Harry Potter and the Fantasy Quest
by Liselle129
Summary: Harry and friends, plus Malfoy, wake up in a strange world at the mercy of a woman known only as the Dungeon Master, where they must face an evil wizard - not THAT one - to get home. HP and D&D crossover. Do I even need to say canon shipping?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

Author's note: This is a story I posted several years ago on Riddikulus. It is meant to be silly and fun, so if you're looking for depth, this isn't it. I finally decided to add it here as well, as something to fill in for my regular readers when I haven't had time to write anything new. It's not necessary to know role-playing to enjoy this story, but there are some inside jokes if you do. The story takes place during the summer between books 5 and 6, but I mostly ignore Order of the Phoenix.

**Chapter 1 – Meet the Dungeon Master**

Harry Potter awoke to find himself gazing up at a blue sky, the sun high overhead. He blinked. This was not at all right. The last thing he remembered, he had fallen asleep in his bed at the Dursleys, just like every other night of the summer holidays. Harry also suddenly realized that he was very uncomfortable. Looking down at his body, he realized that this was because he was wearing full plate armor. Slowly and loudly, he pulled into a sitting position. Beside him lay a metal helmet, a large metal shield, a very large sword, and a leather sack. He was also wearing a cloak over his armor. Around him, he noticed familiar figures waking up and taking in their surroundings. Ron Weasley was next to him, wearing a complete outfit of leather with metal rivets. Several weapons surrounded him: a longbow, a quiver of arrows, a long sword, and a short sword. Hermione Granger was not far off, wearing a medieval outfit with a large cross on the front. At her side was a heavy mace and a wooden shield.

The three friends stood up and looked at each other in astonishment. Apparently, none of them could find words. Then Harry caught sight of three red heads popping up from the long grass of the hillside where they stood. As the figures stood up, Harry recognized them as Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley. The three redheads caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and began walking toward them. The silence was at last broken by Ron's furious voice.

"Malfoy!" he exclaimed angrily. "What's the big idea? Is this your doing?"

Harry turned, and sure enough, a pale blond boy was also standing up. Draco Malfoy was wearing a costume that appeared to be made of strips of cloth wrapped around his body in a fairly complex arrangement. He seemed startled but managed his usual lazy drawl as he replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Weasel."

"Liar!" Ron shouted and tried to get to him. In a ritual perfected by years of practice, Harry and Hermione held him back. Harry noted, however, that this was a little more difficult than he remembered and felt that he would have less likely to succeed in restraining his friend if it were not for Hermione's assistance. Even with both of them, it was a struggle, so it was fortunate that they did not need to do so for long. A new voice intruded upon the scene.

"He's telling the truth," said the female, American-accented voice, and everyone turned to look. The newcomer was a woman in her twenties, dressed in modern Muggle clothing. Her dark hair was pulled back into a braid at the back of her head, and she was smiling as she walked toward them.

"I brought you all here," the woman said. "Have you ever heard of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons?"

"I have," said Hermione, "but I've never played it."

"Well, I have brought you into a fantasy world of my own devising in order to pursue a quest. This adventure will follow the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, with some minor modifications of my own. I control everything that happens here, except for your actions. You may simply call me Dungeon Master. If you have questions at any time, just call out 'DM,' and I will come as quickly as I can."

She turned to each person as she described the characteristics they possessed in this world.

"Harry, you are the lawful good Paladin, defender of the helpless and champion of the innocent."

"That's you, all right," teased Ron. Everyone ignored him.

"I struggled with your alignment for a while," the DM continued, "After all, you don't always follow the rules. However, lawful can mean that you always follow some sort of code, and I determined that you do that.

"Hermione, you are the lawful good Cleric, wanting to work for good within the framework of rules. You are primarily the healer of the group, but you are also a competent fighter and have other spells at your disposal. Your powers come through prayer and meditation. Your domains are Good and Knowledge." At this point, the DM gestured to the cross on Hermione's chest. "Technically, this is not a holy symbol in this world, but I thought you'd feel more comfortable with a religious symbol you're familiar with. Ron, you are a chaotic good Ranger, expert fighter and tracker. For you, the end justifies the means, and you have little use for rules and regulations. You also have a small number of spells at your disposal, as does Harry. Ginny, you are the neutral good Druid, a fighter and spellcaster who is closely affiliated with nature. You obey order as long as you feel it is for the greater good, but you are willing to deviate from that when necessary. Fred, you are a Rogue, skilled at stealth and at discovering and disabling traps. George, you are a Sorcerer, which is fairly self-explanatory. Both of you are chaotic neutral, which means that you tend to do whatever comes to mind, if it's in your best interests. Draco, you are the lawful evil Monk, an expert in the martial arts, dangerous even when unarmed. You want to bring about evil in the world, according to a learned structure and order."

As she described the characteristics of each of them, Harry looked more closely at how they were dressed and the items they carried. Ginny appeared to be wearing some sort of thick, gray animal hide. At her side were a scimitar, a club, a sling, and a small wooden shield. There was a pendant on a chain around her neck, and she also carried several sacks of various sizes. Fred wore black leather and was armed with a rapier and a short bow. George was wearing a simple tunic and trousers with a cloak overtop. He also had gloves and metal wristbands but appeared to be unarmed. Harry wasn't much interested in Draco and only registered that he wasn't wearing armor, either.

"Now, I suggest that you all look through the goods I have provided for you," the Dungeon Master said. Harry complied, looking into the sack that had been near him. He found a small trinket in the shape of a fan, two wands, three vials of potion, and a pouch containing gold, silver, and copper pieces. Another pouch contained some dried fruits and meat, and there were some ordinary items like flint and tinder, candles, and rope. Surprisingly, he knew instantly what everything in the bag was for. He placed his sword in its scabbard on his belt and arranged the sack on his person also. Finally, he strapped his large shield onto his left arm.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, knocking her fist against her shoulder. To Harry's surprise, he heard the ring of metal.

"That is a glamered suit of chain mail," the Dungeon Master replied. "It allows you to be protected by armor without looking as though you are. You can remove the illusion if you wish."

Apparently, Hermione did so because a suit of chain mail suddenly appeared on her. Satisfied that everyone was familiar with the objects they were carrying, the Dungeon Master spoke again.

"Here is your quest: an evil wizard has taken over a village not far from here and set up his headquarters in the castle that formerly belonged to the local baron, left vacant when the last one died one hundred years ago. He has enslaved the villagers and is building his forces to take over more territory and establish his own kingdom. His influence already extends for some distance around the village. Your task is to go to his castle and defeat him. Oh, and he knows you're coming."

"So what's _he_ doing here?" asked Harry with distaste, gesturing towards Malfoy.

"Just a little additional challenge, having to worry about deception from within. I also wanted to see if you could get him to work with you at all. I actually don't expect him to survive long, so it will be interesting if you prove me wrong."

All of the Hogwarts students exchanged nervous glances.

"Survive?" said Ginny. "You mean, we could die here?"

"Oh, yes, but death here will send you back to your own world. Of course, you can be resurrected or reincarnated back here."

"So what's to stop us from killing ourselves so that we can get back?" asked Draco arrogantly.

"Well, first of all, you will find that you can feel pain quite well. You are more than welcome to fall on your sword, though, Draco. Oh, that's right, you haven't got one!" the DM smiled sweetly. In spite of himself, Harry was starting to like this woman. "Harry and Hermione will find that they cannot refuse the quest. Even if the people of this world are imaginary, you want to help them."

Harry realized that she was right. Now that he was here, he had no desire to back out. A quick glance at Hermione showed him that she felt the same way.

"That being the case," continued the Dungeon Master, "Ginny and Ron will stay to support their friends. Fred and George will remain due to family ties and because they're tremendously curious. Draco will probably be very little help but will stay with the group out of cowardice. Since the Cleric and Paladin both recognize him as evil, they may not be very inclined to heal him if he gets wounded. Therefore, he will need to decide whether to make himself useful so that they will consider healing him, or if he should just stand by and wait until something kills him.

"Your personalities remain essentially unchanged. Any phobias or idiosyncrasies you had in your own world will still be a part of you here. Certain physical aspects have been improved, however. For example, Harry now has perfect vision."

Harry started, but she was correct. He was not wearing glasses, yet he could see everything with perfect clarity, even better than with his round spectacles.

"You will find that certain innate abilities have also changed, such as strength, dexterity—"

"Hermione, I think I should tell you that I like you. I mean, I REALLY like you," interrupted Ron, looking at Hermione intently.

"I like you, too!" said Hermione in surprise. "Would you like to kiss me?"

"Love to." Suiting actions to words, Ron kissed her, tentatively at first, then with more intensity.

"Oh, good grief!" said the DM, rolling her eyes.

"Way to go!" cheered Fred.

"Slip her some tongue," advised George.

"Ack!" exclaimed Ginny. "Doesn't anyone care that their sister is standing _right here_?"

"No," said Fred.

"Not really," George agreed.

"We've been worried about him," said Fred in mock seriousness.

"We were planning an intervention," added George.

"Yeah, well, don't cancel that order just yet," the Dungeon Master commented.

"I don't get it," said Harry, gesturing at his two friends. "I mean, why now?"

"As I was saying," the DM replied, "your innate abilities have been altered to fit the personas you're in. They both have much higher levels of wisdom than they do normally, so it occurred to them that it might be a good idea to tell each other how they feel."

Harry wasn't sure this made sense, but it seemed as logical as anything else he'd seen here so far. Then the DM turned back to Ron and Hermione and sighed. "It seems a shame, doesn't it? Still, we're burning daylight, here. All right, break it up, you two. This isn't a romance."

With that, she clapped her hands sharply beside the lip-locked couple, causing them to spring apart, startled. Seeing everyone staring at them, they both blushed.

"If you want to sneak into each other's tents in the middle of the night, that's your business," the DM informed them. "However, I should mention that none of you will remember what happens here when you return to your own world."

Both Hermione and Ron looked a little shocked and almost guilty at the mention of sharing tents.

"What do you mean, we won't remember anything?" asked Ginny.

"When you wake up in your own world, either because you died here or because you completed the objective, you will only view this experience as an extraordinarily vivid dream, though even that memory will fade quickly."

Harry suddenly realized that he was wearing a tremendous amount of armor as well as a large sword. Curious, he pulled the blade out of its sheath and made a few practice swings. It felt very natural in his hand, and the weight of it didn't slow him down at all.

"It hardly seems to weigh anything!" he exclaimed, re-sheathing it.

"Precisely," answered the DM. "Most of you will find that you have greater strength than you're accustomed to. Unfortunately, that often means you lost something in other areas. So, everyone armed and ready? Good. I'll be giving you a couple of random encounters to help you get used to your abilities before the wizard's minions start to find you.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Ginny, you have the ability to turn into an animal of small or medium size three times a day. What would you like that to be?"

"Hm…. Could it be a bear?"

"A black bear would be the right size."

"Okay, that's what I want."

"Done."

"So, when is this supposed to begin?" asked Hermione.

"Right about…now," the DM replied. Then, she promptly disappeared.

Before Harry could really think about this, he suddenly noticed a cone of mist coming from somewhere off to his right. Only it wasn't mist. As it hit Harry, he could feel the acid burning his skin, even through his armor. Draco and Fred instinctively leapt out of the way, both managing not to be touched by the spray. Ron and George also dodged but didn't escape some acid burns. That left Harry, Hermione, and Ginny to take the brunt of it. A large creature that looked something like a dinosaur was coming toward them at an impressive rate of speed. Its head was narrow, with two orifices, one of which had apparently been used to spray the acid.

Fred came out of his tumble and drew his rapier, trying to circle around to the right. The thing closed the remaining distance between them and attacked the nearest member of their group, which happened to be Ginny. It raked her with its back feet, and she cried out as the impact penetrated her armor. Ron drew his bow and fired two shots in rapid succession. The first one lodged in the creature's right flank, but the second bounced off of its thick hide, causing Ron to swear.

"Magic missile," said George, and four bursts of energy flew out from his hands to strike the creature on the left side, leaving scorch marks. George stared at his hands and said, "Cool."

Ginny drew her scimitar and slashed the beast's torso. Hermione brought out her mace and struck its leg. Harry drew his sword, lunged forward, and plunged it into the creature's belly. He tried to keep himself between the monster's powerful legs and Ginny.

Fred had now reached the beast's left flank. He took a moment to aim, and then drove his rapier into the flesh. The beast staggered, then turned towards him. It raked him with its back legs, but Fred held his ground. Ron took aim and shot once more. The arrow buried itself in the neck, and the monster fell. Everyone seemed to pause.

"Is it dead?" Ginny asked, breathing rather heavily. She didn't look very good. Much of her visible flesh was melted, and she was holding her ribs. Harry thrust his sword into the monster again, surprising himself.

"It is now," he replied. As he turned, he saw that Hermione had gone over to help Ginny. Hermione laid her hands on the younger girl and muttered some words. Ginny looked better almost immediately. Another touch, and she was whole again.

Hermione then tried to go to Harry, but he instructed her to see to everyone else first, including herself. In fact, Hermione was now looking the worst for wear, with George running a close second. That surprised Harry, and he shuddered to think what George might have looked like if he hadn't managed to dodge some of the acid.

Ron insisted he didn't need healing, and he didn't look too badly off, but Hermione cast a spell on him anyway, after attending to George. Then she healed herself and Harry. Harry volunteered to use his own healing powers, but Hermione told him to save them in case something happened to her later. At this point, the DM reappeared.

"Excellent work!" she told them approvingly. "I thought this would be fairly easy for you, but--"

"You call that easy?" Ginny asked her, incredulous.

"You downed it in less than two rounds, and only two people were even close to being seriously injured," the DM shrugged. "Wait until you see what still lies ahead."

"What was that thing, anyway?" inquired Fred, who was cleaning his rapier by driving it into the ground. Harry had already wiped his sword clean.

"It's a Digester," Ron answered. He was attempting to retrieve his arrows, but one of the shafts had broken. He made a face as he tossed it aside. "They're nearly always hungry, and they see anything that moves as prey."

"How did you know that?" George asked in surprise. Ron blinked.

"I don't know," he responded, frowning. "I seem to know a lot of things about magical beasts. Those and undead creatures."

"That's part of your Ranger abilities," said the DM. "I suggest you begin traveling soon. There is still quite a distance to go before the next village, and sunset will be in just a few hours. Oh, and some of you may have already noticed that sleeping in heavy armor is not very comfortable. You will need to remove it to sleep, or you won't be well rested. Therefore, if you set a watch tonight, I recommend that those wearing heavier armor take the first and last watches so that you only have to remove it once. See you later!"

With that, she was gone again. The group looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess we might as well," said Harry, and he led the way towards the setting sun. Although the DM had not specifically told them to go that way, it seemed right. Since she did not return to correct their course, he assumed that they were going in the proper direction.

--

Author's Note: So, there's the setup. I want to admit that the "slip her the tongue" line actually came from a story I heard about a rehearsal for Brigadoon where the guy performing the wedding in the show said that instead of "Come on, man, kiss her!" Just in case anyone is interested, this was the story where I sort of taught myself how to write action scenes.


	2. Chapter 2: Dire Straits

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

Author's note: Well, the response to the last chapter was not exactly overwhelming (thank you to the ever-faithful SnakeEyes16 for dropping a review), but I guess I'll keep posting chapters anyway. 45 people thought it interesting enough to look at it. I suppose the true test will be how many come back for this, the second chapter.

**Chapter 2 – Dire Straits**

Harry and the others traveled for several hours without incident. As the sun began to set in what Harry assumed was the west, they stopped and began to make camp. Fred discovered that he had a bag larger on the inside than it was on the outside, and it contained four tents. Ron and Ginny went off in search of some food while the remaining men set up the tents, even Draco. Hermione collected firewood, and Harry started a campfire, surprised to discover that he actually knew how to do this.

Ron returned with a deer carcass. Ginny had managed to bring down two rabbits with her sling, and she also brought back some edible roots and leaves. After they had eaten, Harry began assigning shifts to keep watch.

"Hermione, you go first, since you have heavy armor to get into and out of. Ginny, why don't you go next, then Ron, then Fred, then me. George, you need your rest to be effective in your spellcasting, so I'm not assigning you a watch. That way, if our sleep does get interrupted, you can still get a complete 8 hours."

"You can't tell me you actually trust that DM person, do you?" sneered Malfoy, breaking his long silence. Harry turned to him coolly.

"No, I don't trust her. However, I do think that she's trying to be fair and play by some rules, whether we understand them or not. I see no harm in keeping a watch throughout the night. In fact, it's probably a good idea. When she stops giving us hints, _then_ I'll worry."

"I agree," Ron put in, glaring at Malfoy. That enmity clearly hadn't dulled with the transfer to this world.

"Do you even need to ask why you weren't assigned a watch?" added Hermione to Draco.

"Of course not. I know perfectly well that none of you trust me."

By unspoken agreement, Draco took the fourth tent for himself. No one was particularly eager to sleep right next to him, anyway. Ron helped Harry remove his armor in the tent they were sharing, while Fred and George took a tent together, and Ginny settled down in the tent she would eventually share with Hermione. Hermione seated herself by the low fire to begin her two-hour guard shift. They had also agreed to keep the fire burning low all night, to help with visibility and to keep common predators away.

Most of the night passed in apparent calm. At any rate, Harry slept soundly until a shout awoke him. The inside of the tent was very dark, and it was a moment before Harry remembered where he was. As soon as he did, he sat straight upright.

"Harry? Are you awake?" he heard Ron's voice nearby. Harry just grunted in response and reached for his sword. Ron exited the tent, and as some firelight illuminated him, Harry could see that Ron carried his two swords. Harry thought longingly of his armor, uncomfortable as it was, but knew that he didn't have time to put it on. He did, however, grab his shield before he went out to see what was going on.

Near the fire, Harry glimpsed Fred lying pinned under the largest lion Harry had ever seen. It had to be three times longer than Fred! Fred's bow was lying on the ground beside him, but, as Harry watched, Fred managed to pull out his rapier and stick the lion with it. Ron and Harry immediately ran to his aid, though Harry was vaguely aware of other battles going on around him. He heard George casting a spell and thought he saw a flash, as though the campfire had suddenly blazed up, but after that, his attention was completely occupied with the scene in front of him.

The lion raked at Fred with its back claws, causing him to fall unconscious due to his injuries. Ron got there first, both swords drawn, and struck. He hit twice with the longsword and once with the shortsword, drawing blood with each strike. Harry then joined the fray, driving his sword into the beast's flank twice. The lion turned on Ron in rage, clawing and biting him while Ron tried in vain to hit it again. Harry struck the lion, and his sword sank deep into its body. Blood gushed out, covering his hand, and the lion fell down, dead.

Wasting no time, Ron and Harry rushed to Fred. Harry could tell instantly that Fred was not in very good shape, and he laid his hands upon him, sending healing energy through him. Within a few seconds, many of Fred's wounds were healed, and he woke up. He immediately sprang up, ready to fight.

"It's okay," said Ron, putting a restraining hand on him. "It's dead. The fight's over."

Harry stood up to look around and saw that Ron was right in more ways than he may have realized. Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and George surrounded the body of another gigantic lion. In addition, Ginny seemed to be accompanied by a huge weasel about 6 feet long, which she was just now gently detaching from the lion's flank. Harry thought he saw the inert form of a second weasel at the edge of the firelight.

"Lesser Restoration," Hermione said, laying her hands on herself. "That's better. Now, who's the most injured?"

"Are you all right?" Ron asked her in a concerned voice.

"The other weasel latched on to me, that's all," she said. "I'm fine now." Still, Ron refused to leave her side after that.

As Hermione and Ginny went around healing those who seemed to need it, Fred went and sadly picked up his bow. Harry could now see that the bowstring had broken.

"I tried to shoot the thing when I first saw it," Fred explained. "The bloody string broke, though, and the lion jumped me."

"Now, _that_ I can fix," said George cheerfully. "Mending," he added, grasping the bowstring. When he let go, it was one piece again.

"Excellent!" said Fred. "Thanks, brother!"

"Anytime. I'm afraid Draco's tent is a bit worse for wear, though, and that's too big for me to fix."

Harry looked over at where Draco's tent was set up and noted that it had some claw marks and looked as though it had been severely burned.

"Why do you care?" asked Fred suspiciously.

"I wouldn't, normally, but he did help to attack the lion when it came after me."

"Well, you got it off me," said Draco grudgingly, "although I noticed you didn't mind if you incinerated me in the process!"

"You dodged all right, didn't you?" George responded, not seeming at all abashed. "Besides," he added, turning back to Fred, "_you _don't really want to share a tent with Malfoy, do you?"

"Good point, my intelligent brother."

"Well, I can fix the tent," said Hermione, who had just healed George. She went over to the tent and said, "Make whole." The tent was immediately repaired. She then turned back to George with her best McGonagall look.

"If the lion was occupied with Draco, why did you attack it?" she asked sternly.

George looked a little sheepish.

"I had a new spell I wanted to try," he admitted.

"Spoken like a true chaotic," said a laughing voice behind them. The DM was there again. "Nice work, by the way. Excellent teamwork. And congratulations, Ginny. I'd hoped you would think of that."

Ginny grinned triumphantly and indicated the large weasel beside her.

"Everyone, this is my new Dire Weasel animal companion," she announced.

"Great; the little Weasel's got a pet weasel," sneered Draco, some of his old attitude returning.

"She's not a pet; she's a companion," Ginny retorted disdainfully.

"Are you going to stop by after every battle?" Harry asked, addressing the DM.

"Not all, no," replied the DM. "I'm really just here now because I forgot to tell you that you will be coming upon a village late tomorrow afternoon. You can stop there to rest and get supplies if you wish. It will be your last opportunity to do so before you reach the area of the wizard's influence."

"Okay. Um…thanks?" Harry said, a little disgruntled.

"No problem. Well, I'll be off then." And so she was.

Once everyone had settled down a bit, Harry put on his armor and took his turn at watch. He was fairly certain it wouldn't be necessary, but it was only fair, and he didn't think he could sleep anyway.

--

Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter and the next are kind of short. I originally had the idea of making every fight its own chapter. I will eventually start putting two in plus more narrative, so the chapters get longer.


	3. Chapter 3: Naughty Naga

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

Author's note: The number of hits on this story doubled, a new person reviewed, and another thought it worthy to put on alert, so I guess it's worth continuing. Enjoy!

**Chapter 3 – Naughty Naga**

Harry had not been on his watch more than half an hour when he heard a stirring in one of the tents. Shortly thereafter, George came to join him.

"I don't seem to need any more sleep," he explained. "I thought I'd come keep you company."

He sat down beside Harry and just stared into the fire for a little while.

"So, what do you think of all this?" George said at last, waving his arm to encompass their entire surroundings.

"I've been thinking about that," admitted Harry. "Actually, I kind of like it. Here, I'm right in the middle of things, instead of stuck wondering what's going on. And anything is better than the Dursleys."

"It's certainly a lot more cheerful than Grimmauld Place," George agreed, gazing over to where the sky was just beginning to lighten in the east. Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "Even with getting mauled by gigantic wild animals."

"Grimmauld Place?" asked Harry curiously.

"It's where we've all been staying. The headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."

"What's that?"

"The secret group that's been organized to fight You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. Just like the last time, only some of the players are different. We don't really know much more than you, though. Fred and I have been kept out of things because we're 'too young.'"

"But has anything happened? You know, any attacks?"

"Not a thing. Dad and Mum think You-Know-Who is gathering his strength before he acts."

They were silent for a while, then George, apparently bored, snapped his fingers, and a spear appeared in his right hand.

"Where did you get that?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Oh, I've always had it," said George. "I just haven't needed to use it yet. Watch this." With that, he made it disappear and reappear several times by snapping his fingers.

"It's a Glove of Storing," George explained. "It will hold one item. Not as impressive as a Fireball, perhaps, but still pretty cool."

Harry nodded his agreement, but he was inwardly smiling. He hadn't actually seen the Fireball George had cast earlier, but he had seen the results. Apparently, the twins still had their taste for mischief and mayhem.

"I kind of miss my reflexes," Harry said then.

"How's that?" asked George.

"Well, I'm used to being able to move quickly, you know. Here, I'm a little sluggish. At first, I thought it was just the heavy armor, but tonight, I was fighting without it, and I still felt slow." Then he laughed. "I guess the perfect vision and incredible strength make up for it, though."

George frowned as he thought this over.

"I feel as strong and quick as I ever was," he said. "My brain doesn't seem to work quite as quickly, though. I don't think I've become suddenly stupid; I just don't feel as sharp as I used to be. I can do magic, but only a few spells, although I have to admit that some of them are pretty amazing things they didn't teach us at Hogwarts. Overall, I think you made out better than I did."

There was a pause then because Harry really didn't know how to answer that. Afterwards, they conversed about random topics until the rest of the camp began to move about. Harry found that he didn't really have to wake anyone. As though an alarm had gone off inside everyone's heads, they all began moving at about the same time. They had some breakfast, several meditated for a while, and they began to break camp.

"Hey, everyone, I just thought of something," said Harry, trying to get everyone's attention. "Since we will find a village today where we can make some purchases and do some trading, I have an idea. Can everyone bring together any items they have that they don't think they'll have a use for? Maybe we can combine them in exchange for something the whole group could use."

Everyone except Draco seemed to think this was a good idea and brought everything they thought was expendable. Harry was rather amazed by the way the group in general seemed to accept him as their leader. He didn't know that his charisma was considerably higher than normal, and since most of the group had been in the habit of looking towards him as a leader anyway, the transition was easy.

"Um…guys?" said Ginny curiously while they were gathering their items together. "Does anyone else think it's strange that the bodies of the lions and the other weasel just sort of disappeared?"

Harry looked around with everyone else, wondering why he hadn't realized it earlier. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but the bodies were definitely gone completely.

"Oh well," said Fred in his usual, easygoing manner. "No messy cleanup."

Harry frowned but turned his attention back to the magic items arrayed in front of him. For reasons he didn't understand, he knew the approximate value of everything that he saw, though he needed to ask the functions of a few of them. He himself had donated his two wands (Shocking Grasp and Summon Monster I; he couldn't see the use of them) and his Quaal's feather token (fan). The fan's only function was to create wind to push a sailboat, and since travel by water didn't look likely, it was easy to get rid of.

"I think the best thing we could do is trade this stuff in for a Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds," said Harry. "That would be beneficial to the group as a whole, in case something happens to Hermione and Ginny or they run out of spells."

There was a little argument to this, but in the end, they all agreed. All of the items were placed in Harry's sack because he was regarded as the most trustworthy one who could handle the extra weight. Most of the items actually weighed very little, but the cumulative effect still could have been a problem for some.

The group traveled for several hours uneventfully. Around midday, they came to a stream and stopped for a bite of lunch and to refill their waterskins. Shortly thereafter, they came to a road that took them out of the hills and into a wooded area. The road cut a wide swath through the forest. The farther they went, the larger the trees became. Suddenly, Harry heard a faint hissing sound, and flames erupted in their midst. Even as Harry instinctively dodged, he wondered if this were what a Fireball looked like. If so, it wasn't much fun from the inside. He only got a little burned, as did Ron. Fred and Draco, showing their uncanny reflexes yet again, appeared to escape unharmed. The remaining three, however, especially George, looked much the worse for wear when the fire had dissipated. Harry looked up and saw that a large, purple serpent with a humanoid head was coiled around a tree trunk and a few sturdy branches, perhaps twenty feet up.

Ron drew his bow with lightning speed, and both his arrows found their target. Fred also drew his bow and hit the snake-thing with an arrow that exploded on impact. Draco took out a wand, and suddenly, there were four of him, all moving in exact synchronization, making it impossible to tell which one was the real Draco.

"Diminish Plants!" Ginny cried out. All of the trees in the immediate vicinity, including the one holding the serpent-creature, shrank to one-third their size and appeared to be neatly pruned. This put the monster within arm's reach of the party. The creature hissed, "Shield," but it was not immediately obvious whether this had done anything.

"Magic Missile," said George, but an invisible force field seemed to absorb the energy. The creature's hideous face grinned maliciously as George stared in disbelief and Hermione cast a healing spell on him. Harry cast Bless on his friends and himself and drew his sword.

Ron fired two more arrows. The first one hit the creature, but the second was deflected by the force field. Fred tried his bow again, but the arrow was deflected. The Dracos came forward to attack but didn't connect. Ginny pulled a furry ball out of the bag at her side and tossed it in front of her. Her Dire Weasel approached the tree and tried but failed to bite the serpent. Another Fireball erupted on the path; Draco, being under the tree, was out of range. Fred, Harry, and Ron again dodged, while George, Hermione, and Ginny took the brunt of it.

"Cat's Grace," George muttered to himself. Hermione cured him again as Harry rushed forward and managed to slice the creature around its invisible shield.

At this point, Ron abandoned his bow, drew both swords in one fluid motion, and ran forward to slash the monster. Fred slung his bow over his back and drew his rapier. The Dracos hacked at the tail with their bare hands and appeared to hurt it. A lion appeared directly in front of the tree and clawed the serpent body as Ginny's shape began to shift and blur. The snake-thing's tail tried to sting Draco but apparently didn't connect with the real him. It also tried to bite Harry, only colliding against his armor. Hermione laid her hand on the shifting form of Ginny to heal her. Harry sliced the creature again, knocking it unconscious, and Ron lopped its head off.

The two friends stood for a moment, breathing hard and looking at each other with a certain amount of surprise and mutual respect. Shortly, the now-headless snake disappeared, leaving Harry free to look around a little more. A black bear now stood where Ginny had been, but even as he watched, its outline shifted again, and Ginny stood there, looking healthier than she had before she'd shapeshifted. She called to the lion, and it jumped back into the bag, shrinking as it jumped so that it fit perfectly by the time it reached the opening.

Harry looked below his feet and noticed a large pile of copper coins erupting from the roots of the diminutive tree.

"Hey, look!" said Fred, pointing and drawing the attention of the others. He and Harry pulled out the coins, but it seemed to never end. Thousands upon thousands of copper coins came from the gap between roots. They also found a vial of potion and something dark that appeared to be a folded piece of cloth.

"How are we supposed to carry all of this?" said Ron in a perplexed voice as Harry examined the cloth with equal puzzlement.

"Hey!" said George suddenly. "I know what that is."

He took it from Harry, unfolded it, and placed it on the ground, where it formed a round, dark place. To Harry's surprise, George then put his arm in it, which disappeared up to the shoulder, just like in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

"Portable Hole," George explained. "We can put lots of stuff in here, then fold it up and carry it so it'll weigh hardly anything."

"Is it made by ACME?" Harry asked dryly. It was somewhat wasted, though, as only Hermione caught the reference and giggled slightly. Everyone else looked at Harry like he had gone mad, so he just shrugged and let it go.

Hermione cast a few more healing spells while the others packed the coins into the Portable Hole. Because the potion vial was breakable, they decided not to add it. Besides, they hadn't identified it yet. George carried it instead.

The group then held a conference to decide what to do next. Some wanted to stop and rest for a while. Harry, however, reasoned that they must be fairly close to the village by now and wanted to risk pressing on until they got there. Again, he prevailed upon them, much to his surprise. George held out the longest, but when Fred agreed to go on, George gave in.

Hermione reminded Ginny to undo the spell she had cast on the trees, and Harry led the way down the road, hoping fervently that he had made the right choice.

--

Author's Note: The part about bodies disappearing was a little joke about how my group usually plays. Once we've knocked something out (they're not even necessarily dead yet), we usually remove their markers from the board. This chapter might have felt a little dull, but I promise it gets better!

Review responses:

Fusion Blaster: Yeah, it is pretty crazy. I was kind of surprised no one had done this sort of thing at the time I wrote it. I'd read one story where a bunch of the characters were sitting around playing D&D over Christmas holidays, so I guess that sort of gave me the idea for this. Plus I was big into playing, as I am again now.


	4. Chapter 4: Into the Village and Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

**Chapter 4 – Into the Village and Out Again**

Much to Harry's relief, he and his companions followed the road down without incident and were soon within sight of the village, nestled within a valley. It looked warm and inviting, and Harry found himself walking more quickly to reach it.

"Hang on," said Fred, making him pause. "Hadn't we better decide what to do with the money we just found? We can't just go around the town paying for things in handfuls of copper coins. Besides, we don't even know how much is there."

Harry turned to Fred, beginning to speak, and stopped short.

"Fred, where _did_ you get those clothes?" he asked. Fred was now dressed in very elegant clothing, like a courtier. "And when did you have time to change?"

"What? Oh, this?" Fred said nonchalantly. "Hat of Disguise, of course. Don't change the subject, though."

George insisted on seeing more of what the hat could do, so Fred shifted his appearance a few more times, even making himself look exactly like a Gringott's goblin. In the end, however, he rested on his elegant clothing and his natural looks again ("Why tinker with perfection?"). George then took out the Portable Hole and emptied all of the coins out of it. It was an impressive pile, and they realized that Fred was right. After a conference, they decided to go into the village, one or two at a time, and exchange the money at a bank or similar place for gold pieces. Ginny emptied her backpack, and each person filled it with copper coins and came back with a much smaller pile of gold coins. Fred went several times, using the Hat of Disguise to make him look different each time. Since they still had the Candle of Truth George had donated toward the group treasure, they used it to make sure no one was cheating. In the end, they had 600 gold pieces.

"Okay," said Harry. "We'll probably need three rooms at an inn for the next three nights, since I suggest we take tomorrow as a day of rest, the following day to make our exchanges and purchase supplies, and leave early the next morning. That's 18 gold. Then meals for two days for all of us will cost another 14, for a total of 32."

He removed those 32 from the stash and divided up the rest. This gave everyone 81 gold pieces, with 1 left over. Harry held it and looked at it thoughtfully.

"This should provide us with a nice supper tonight," he decided it, adding it to the group expense account previously set aside. "Everyone will be on their own for breakfast the day we leave."

"Wait just a minute," interrupted Draco. "Who gets the Portable Hole and the potion? Those were earned by the group, too."

"I think we first need to find out what the potion is," Hermione put in dryly.

"And I think we should continue to use the Portable Hole for any group treasure we find along the way," added Ginny. "It will make it much easier to carry, especially since, once we leave this village, we're not likely to find a place to spend or exchange it until we're done with our quest."

"And at that point, we won't need it," put in Ron. "If I understood the DM correctly, defeating the wizard will send us home again."

"Which means," said Fred, "that we might as well spend all or most of our money now on things we think we'll need."

"In that case, why do we need to carry any treasure?" asked George. They all thought about this for a moment.

"We can use it for spare weapons, at least," Harry said at last. "We may find some along the way, and we never know when one might break on us or something. Anyway, I'm okay with George keeping the Portable Hole for now."

"You would be," muttered Malfoy, but as no one else made any argument, he kept silent after that.

Ginny was a little worried about her Dire Weasel being accepted and was willing to stay outside the village until they were finished with their business, but Harry didn't think it would be safe for her to be alone and pointed out that the folk of this world were probably used to people having animal companions. At last, they went into the village and found an inn that looked respectable. Harry placed a gold piece on the counter and asked for as much food as that would buy for the seven of them. They all seated themselves, and a pair of waitresses shortly brought them several loaves of dark bread, bowls of stew, and mugs of ale. They must have looked very impressive as a group, for the other patrons carefully avoided them.

Although the supper before them was no match for the feasts at Hogwarts, it was a more complete meal than they had eaten in two days, and they all ate their fill. When they had finished, Harry went back to the bar and asked if they had three rooms available. They did, and Harry took the chance of paying for the rooms and their meals in advance. The twins agreed to share a room with Draco, reasoning that he knew what they could do to him if he even attempted anything they thought suspicious.

As Harry had advised, they all rested during the entire next day, leaving their rooms only for meals and visits to the necessary facilities. After dinner that evening, the girls insisted on having a soak in the inn's bath house and hinted that it wouldn't kill the boys to clean up a little as well. Actually, a bath sounded rather good to Harry, and they all took turns in the bath.

On the second day, Harry and Hermione went into the village to trade their goods. They were able to obtain the Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds and received some gold in addition, as the presence of a Paladin and a lawful good Cleric made the merchant disinclined to cheat them. The two friends considered purchasing something else but decided they had better go back and consult with the group.

Everyone gathered in Ron and Harry's room to decide what to do next.

"I think George should carry the new wand," said Harry. "No offense, George, but you're the most likely to need it if Hermione can't get to you. Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and I can all heal ourselves to some extent, hardly anything seems to touch Fred, and Ron appears to be incredibly resilient."

"Then he shouldn't have the Portable Hole anymore," Draco insisted. The others grudgingly admitted that this made a certain amount of sense.

"Hermione, I think everyone can trust you," Harry said. "Why don't you take the Portable Hole? Oh, we also identified this potion; it's a Potion of Vision. It enables the person who drinks it to make out details unusually well for three hours."

"I also don't think the people carrying the potion or the Portable Hole should have a share of the money we found," Draco added. "I'm sure those items are worth far more than the small amount of gold we each got."

This spurred a rather heated argument, which continued until they were rudely interrupted.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" exclaimed the Dungeon Master, suddenly stepping out of thin air. "You guys are giving me a headache. I know some people really enjoy role-playing these kinds of things, but I'm finding it exceedingly dull. Let's speed things up a bit."

The DM now had her hair mostly down, with only a barrette holding some of it out of her face. Her hair was actually very curly, even more than Hermione's. It fell about her neck and shoulders in corkscrew rings. She was dressed casually, in a blue shirt and khaki shorts. As she spoke her next words, things appeared and disappeared the way she indicated.

"Hermione, you take the Portable Hole, George takes the Wand of Cure Moderate, Fred gets the Potion of Vision. Ron, you upgrade your bow and get 30 masterwork arrows. Harry, you get a masterwork light crossbow and 30 masterwork bolts. Hermione, you get a Potion of Wisdom and a Potion of Enlarge. Ginny, you get a Potion of Swimming; Fred gets two Potions of Spider Climb; and George gets a scroll containing three spells: Invisibility, Darkvision, and Summon Monster II. Finally, Draco, you trade your Sovereign Glue, Dust of Appearance, and Wand of Mirror Image, plus a little money, for 3 Bracers of Armor.

"Okay, that's used up most of the money you all had. It has been transferred to the appropriate businessmen in town, and they will remember the transactions if you should run into them. Carry on."

With that, she was gone again.

"Well, I guess that decides that," said Ron, shrugging. "Let's go get more ordinary things, like, I don't know, food?"

They spent the rest of the day purchasing food, spare clothing, and the like. They slept through the night, bought breakfast at the inn the next morning, and made an early start, climbing up out of the valley and back into the hills.

The group traveled uneventfully for two days. Ron and Ginny hunted and foraged for them so that they rarely needed to use their purchased provisions.

On the third day, Harry began to sense a subtle shift in the atmosphere. They were getting into higher mountains, and the air was growing cooler, but it was something else. He felt a darkness approaching, not of sight but of mind. He was certain they were approaching the evil wizard's domain. Some of the others seemed to feel that there was something amiss, as well. Fred, who had been ranging ahead as their scout, now kept closer to the group, and everyone adopted the habit of keeping weapons ready; except Draco, of course, whose bare hands were his most formidable weapons.

That evening, as the sun was beginning to set, they came through a pass and caught sight of a village situated at the bottom of a large mountain. Unlike the village they had left a few days before, however, this village was not at all welcoming. There was something dark and sad about it. Looking up at the top of the mountain, Harry saw a black fortress that looked as though it had been carved out of the rock of the mountain itself and felt a shiver of foreboding; this could only be the stronghold of the evil wizard himself.

Everyone seemed to share Harry's unease. Suddenly, Harry saw most of his companions lift their heads as though listening to something, and Hermione's eyes widened. He couldn't hear anything, and things began happening so quickly that he could only watch, though he seemed eerily aware of everything going on around him.

"Bull's Strength," said George quietly, touching Harry's shoulder. Harry immediately felt even stronger than normal. Draco made an incredible leap up onto a rocky outcrop. Ginny whispered a spell and began talking to her Dire Weasel in strange, purring tones. Ron whirled and struck out wildly behind him with his sword. At last, Harry caught a glimpse of the threat that had caused the others to act. One blue-black tentacle stretched out from behind the outcrop of rock to slap Ron. As though at a signal, five additional creatures seemed to abandon all attempts at stealth and appeared, advancing in a loose semicircle about 10 yards away, on the downhill slope between Harry's group and the village. The beasts looked something like large, catlike predators, except they had bluish-black fur that seemed to shimmer, six legs, and two powerful-looking tentacles sprouting from their shoulders.

Hermione clasped something at her neck, then cast a spell.

"Holy Smite!" she shouted. Harry didn't see anything happen, but the three creatures in the middle paused in their advance as though staggered by a blow. The one on the left only paused briefly, then continued on. The other two stopped short and moved their heads around as though confused.

"Fireball," George called out, and flames erupted around the three creatures to the right, including the two who had already stopped. Draco took out a wand and used it on himself, though there was no obvious effect.

"Flame Strike," said Ginny calmly, and a column of flame enveloped the three creatures on the left; the one on the far right of these, already hit by George and Hermione, collapsed. Ron attacked with both swords, but Harry still couldn't see much of the beast he was fighting, so he couldn't tell if he'd done any damage. Fred came up to help Ron, disappearing behind the rock. Ron was attacked again, smacked with the tentacles and apparently bitten, but he didn't falter. One cat-thing injured by Ginny ran up to slap her with a tentacle, another hit Hermione, the confused one still standing remained where it was, and the last beast ran up and got George. Harry finally recovered from his surprise, decided Ron had enough help, and ran to Ginny's assistance, managing to injure the creature. Hermione took a swing at the cat on her, but her mace appeared to go right through it. Harry's eyes widened when he saw that, and he knew this was likely to be a more difficult battle than he had first thought.

George's spear appeared in his hand, and he stuck the cat in front of him. Draco leapt down from the rock he was on, apparently attacking the creature engaged with Ron and Fred. Ginny struck the one in front of her with her scimitar; her Dire Weasel attempted a bite but missed. Ron and Fred continued to battle out of Harry's line of sight as the beast Harry was fighting attempted to strike him, both tentacles landing harmlessly on his armor. On the edge of his vision (Harry found himself marveling at the wonder of peripheral vision, something he didn't really have while wearing glasses), Harry saw that George was struggling against the creature he was battling and also noticed that the animal that was still at a distance and had seemed confused before was now making a retreat. Harry struck twice and managed to score a massive blow to the one he and Ginny were fighting and brought it down. Hermione again struck at the animal she was fighting and managed to hurt it this time.

George cast Magic Missile, striking the creature he was fighting but not slowing it down. Glimpses of tentacles and sounds from behind the rock indicated that the battle there was still going on.

"Flaming Sphere," said Ginny, and a ball of fire appeared near the cat that was attacking George. Unfortunately, it dodged, causing Ginny to swear in frustration. Her Dire Weasel stayed by her side. Ron, apparently having finished with the other creature, ran to Hermione's aid and brought down the one she'd been fighting. Fred took off after the retreating predator, causing it to increase its pace as its only standing companion again struck George, knocking him unconscious. Harry went to help George, though his blow seemed to pass through the creature.

"Shield Other," Hermione said in a somewhat desperate voice, pointing toward George. Draco appeared from behind the rock but did not show an interest in getting involved with the continuing battle. Ginny moved her hand, and the flaming sphere moved away from the creature, leaving room for others to jump in and help.

"Produce Flame," she added, and a small fire appeared in her hand, which she then threw, striking the surviving creature and leaving a small scorch mark on its fur. Ron then rushed in but missed. The catlike beast attempted to tear out George's throat and was definitely making a mess of him. Hermione winced as her earlier spell caused her to take some of the damage from the bite. Harry managed to strike the thing a solid blow. Hermione came up to George and cast a healing spell on him, earning herself a slap with a tentacle but bringing George back to consciousness.

George brought up his spear again, with no effect. Ginny ran in and touched the beast with the fire in her hand, causing it to fall. Ron gave it a final blow, ensuring that it was dead.

Hermione and Ginny dropped to the ground, exhausted, but Harry remembered seeing Fred run off and turned to follow him. Fred, however, was already returning up the slope, grinning.

"I got the other one," he said triumphantly. "And I found their cave. You guys gotta see it; there's some pretty cool stuff in there. When you feel up to it, that is."

Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. George used his wand on Hermione, then on himself.

"I've really got to try and stay out of melee combat," he commented wryly.

"Why haven't the bodies disappeared yet?" mentioned Ginny after a moment. Ron frowned in thought.

"Maybe to give us the option of skinning a couple of them. It could be helpful to have that displacement ability," he answered. He had already explained that these were Displacer Beasts, whose fur caused light to bend around them so that it was difficult to see exactly where they were.

"I hardly think we have time to sit here and skin the animals, not to mention curing the skins and cutting them into a form that would be useful," said Harry. "This is enemy territory, after all."

Although this was a difficult thing to accept, everyone eventually agreed with Harry, and the bodies subsequently vanished.

Harry and Draco had been untouched during the fight, and Ginny and Fred had only minor injuries. Ron accepted a couple of healing spells before Fred led the way to the cave.

The cave entrance was fairly large, though it would have been hard to find if they hadn't known where it was. They all entered, and Fred pointed out the stash of treasure apparently accumulated by the Displacer Beasts over time. There was a respectable pile of silver coins, a few handfuls of gold coins, and two platinum coins, which was a surprise to Harry. There was also a silver pitcher, a beautifully carved mug, a potion vial, a shortspear, a suit of studded leather armor, a quiver full of arrows, and four small bags that were squishy to the touch. George cast a Detect Magic spell and told them that nothing was magic except the potion. Still, the shortspear, leather armor, and arrows were obviously made by master craftsmen, and they opted to put them in the Portable Hole to keep in reserve.

Hermione studied the potion vial and found that it had a label denoting it as a Potion of Jump. She placed this in a small pouch at her side for potential use. Fred identified the four bags as tanglefoot bags, which could be thrown at an opponent to capture their feet in a sort of glue. Ron and Ginny each took one, in case the need should arise, and the other two were stored.

An argument began over the rest. Harry didn't see the point of taking the money or decorative items, since they couldn't really trade them. Others, such as Fred, George, and Draco, were reluctant to leave them behind. At last, Hermione pointed out that it was getting late and they could always decide this in the morning. Since the cave was large, dry, and currently unoccupied, they decided to sleep there. They didn't want anyone surprising them, though, so Ron threw down a small charm in the shape of a tree a short distance outside the cave entrance, and it instantly sprang into a large oak tree, six feet in diameter. This did not block the cave completely, of course, but it provided enough cover that it was unlikely that anyone or anything would stumble across them in the night. As an added precaution, however, they still set a watch.

Harry lay awake for quite some time after his turn at watch, staring at the stone roof above him. After their fight with the six Displacer Beasts, and lying in the shadow of the forbidding fortress, he doubted any of them would sleep well.

--

Author's Note: In case you all hadn't figured it out, the Dungeon Master is me. At least, me from a little over three years ago. At the time I wrote this, quite a bit of time elapsed between some of the chapters, so I also put in things that were happening to me at the time. You'll see.

Review response:

airnaruto45: Actually, the Portable Hole is a genuine magic item from the game. It can be found under Wondrous Items in the Dungeon Master's Guide, Third Edition. I just interpreted it in a way I thought Harry would understand.


	5. Chapter 5: Of Fungus and Gargoyles

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

Author's Note: They finally get into the fortress, and the DM undergoes some changes. You all have Sharnorasian Empire to thank for my continuing this. Thanks for your interest! I will plan to post one chapter per day until it is completed. Since it's already done, that will just give me time to do any final editing and making sure the format matches ffnet.

**Chapter 5 – Of Fungus and Gargoyles**

When morning came, everyone went about their morning routines in near-silence. The group decided to stay for another entire day, to be certain they were well rested for the journey to come. It also seemed more prudent, at this point, to travel by cover of night. They ate some dried meat and fruits they still had, and Ron and Ginny went foraging to find what more they could, knowing they would soon enter the fortress and would lose the opportunity of finding fresh food. They decided to leave the monetary treasures behind, and everything else was packed up.

Once everyone had returned from their various tasks, they had to determine their plan of action. Clearly, they couldn't just walk up to the fortress, knock on the door, and ask to see the wizard. Besides the fact that the idea sounded entirely too "Wizard of Oz" in Harry's head, it simply wasn't smart.

"I don't think we should go through the village," said Ron, sketching on the floor of the cave with a stick. "We don't know the wizard's level of influence there, and he almost definitely will have spies. He already knows we're coming; no point in announcing where we are and when we might get to him."

"Okay," said Hermione, pointing out things on his sketch and leaning perhaps a little closer to Ron than was really necessary. "So, we circle around this way, using the rocks and darkness as cover, and climb up the mountain. That will be difficult going. And how will we get in?"

"Once we get close, I'll go have a look around," Fred answered. "I should be able to find some sort of back door and lead you to it."

"We'll also want to get water from the stream that comes down the mountain," commented Ginny. "It's unlikely we'll find fresh water once we're inside, and there's no way of knowing how long it will take us to fight our way through."

"I can create food and water for all of us each day," admitted Hermione. "I don't have many spells of that level, though, so I'd like to wait to depend on that until it's absolutely necessary."

When night fell, Hermione cast Status on everyone so that she could keep track of how they were doing at all times, and George cast Mage Armor on himself. These things had become routine, just like meditations or breaking camp.

After settling a few final details, they were ready to set off. Circling around the village without being seen proved to be incredibly easy. There didn't even appear to be any guards or sentries. This evil wizard most likely didn't want any sort of threat to his authority, including a military organization.

Climbing up the mountain provided a great deal more difficulty. Several of them had rope and climbing equipment with them, which all shared. Harry and Hermione opted to store their heavy armor in the Portable Hole, especially since neither of them were very good climbers in the first place. Fred took one of his Spider Climb potions and scrambled around with no trouble at all. However, this eventually wore off, leaving him to sweat like the others, though he was still very nimble.

As dawn began to lighten the sky, the party found a small crevice that served as a cave to use as shelter during the day. They rested as well as they could and continued on, taking a slight detour by the mountain stream to refill their water bags. By the end of the second night, they had reached the base of the fortress. True to his word, Fred went to scout around it and see what he could find. He came back to report that he had found a small door, almost blending in with the rock face, which appeared to give entrance into the lowest levels.

"The wizard himself is probably at the top," Harry said grimly. "That means we'll have to fight our way through every protection and magical experiment he's got in there."

Still, there was nothing for it but to go on. Dawn was approaching, and being caught at the wizard's proverbial doorstep in daylight was no better than being inside. Fred decided this would be a good time to use his Potion of Vision, so he drank it and checked the door for traps. As he was doing this, Harry and Hermione took the opportunity to put their armor back on. Fred found a magical trap and proceeded to disable it. This took a significant period of time, during which everyone was beginning to get a bit nervous. When Fred unlocked the door and opened it while suffering no ill effects, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Inside was a plain, stone room, not very large. There was a door to the left and a door in front of them. Just after they all got inside and closed the door behind them, they realized it was quite dark.

"Don't panic, anyone," said one of the twins. Harry wasn't sure which one until the next words made it clear it was George. "I was hoping I'd find this spell useful. Continual Flame!"

Instantly, a flame appeared in George's hand (the one not wearing his Glove of Storing). It appeared to be emanating from a coin he held and illuminated as brightly as a torch. Before anyone could say anything, though, a horrible shrieking sound came from the room on their left. Looking at one another in resignation, they rushed through the door, which was unlocked, Fred and Ron in the lead. Unfortunately, it took a second longer for George's light to reach them, so they were still searching for the source of the screaming when Harry heard something slightly squishy connecting with his armor. As he turned to his right, George's light entered the room behind him, and Harry could see that the source of this sound was a tentacle emanating from a large, purple fungus. In fact, the room seemed to be lined with several of them.

From behind him, Harry heard sounds of a struggle and Hermione and Ginny casting spells. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ron and Draco spreading out to Harry's left to engage other mushrooms. George was casting Magic Missile at something, and Harry struck twice at the fungus that had tried to attack him. It stopped moving. Shortly thereafter, the shrieking stopped, and Harry turned to see what was going on in the rest of the room.

Fred and Ginny weren't looking too good, engaging one of the tentacled fungi. (Harry noted that only three had those tentacles; the others did not.) Another of the things with tentacles was creeping slowly closer and trying to attack, but Hermione hit it with her mace. Ron was striking a fungus without tentacles, as was Draco. Ginny struck at the tentacled one before her with a sword of flame, causing it to stop moving. George cast two Magic Missiles at the plain fungus in front of him, then tossed a third at the one Ginny had just hit, apparently to be sure it was no further threat. Harry moved into a position where he could attack the fungus engaging Hermione and Fred. It sent two tentacles against Harry, one against Hermione, and one against Fred. Only the one on Fred hit, but he didn't seem too badly hurt. He rallied and struck the fungus a blow. Hermione also hit it, causing it to stop dead. Ron came up behind them at last, and Ginny cast Neutralize Poison on herself. Draco finished what he was doing and joined the group to ascertain the damage.

"We just battled a bunch of mushrooms," Ron said in disbelief. Hermione gave a nervous giggle. It did sound rather silly, said right out like that. However, the situation was still fairly serious. Only Fred and Ginny had been hit by the tentacles, which turned out to be poisonous. Ginny had already neutralized the poison in herself; now, she did the same for Fred. Unfortunately, they'd both already been weakened by the effects of the poison. After some discussion, Ginny restored her own strength and constitution, and Hermione restored Fred's. Since the actual slaps of the tentacles had done negligible damage, this effectively put everyone into peak health to continue their explorations.

While these matters had been attended to, the fungi had disappeared and been replaced with some coins and two suits of armor: studded leather and full plate mail. Harry felt that they already had plenty of studded leather armor, but others thought that it still might be good to have one extra set. Hermione, meanwhile, was studying the plate mail.

"I know it isn't magic," she said, George having already checked this, "but it would still provide me more protection than what I've got."

"It is rather heavy and uncomfortable," Harry warned her.

"I know, but I think the reduced risk of being hurt will be worth the inconvenience." Her decision made, she took off the chain mail and replaced it with the plate mail. As was already becoming customary, the entire group ignored the coins and returned to the entrance chamber, as there was no other door out of this room. Since they all felt pretty good, and they were anxious to get a little further away from the outer door, they proceeded to the other door in the room. It was locked, but there were no traps, and Fred soon had it open.

This was a large, mostly empty room with high ceilings. As they approached the far side, they could see a double door flanked by two pedestals about 20 feet high. On top of each pedestal sat an ugly statue. Only, they weren't statues.

Harry realized that these stone-like figures were actually living beings, but it was too late to shout a warning as they both dove toward the party, one attacking Draco, and the other clawing Ginny. Draco tried to hit back, with apparently no effect. Fred drew his bow, and Hermione began casting a spell. Harry moved to assist Ginny.

Ron came in to join him, hitting the gargoyle with his sword. George cast Magic Missile at the same one, and Harry, out of the corner of his eye, saw Fred climbing up the wall like an insect. Hermione finished casting her spell, and a creature that looked something like a small tornado appeared in the air and slammed the gargoyle. Ginny slashed at the gargoyle with her scimitar, doing some damage, while her Dire Weasel attempted to bite but could not reach. Harry hit with two massive strikes, knocking the monster down.

At this point, attention turned toward Draco, engaged alone with the other gargoyle. He didn't seem to be badly hurt, but all his flailing against the creature also appeared to be ineffectual.

"So, what should we do?" asked Ron, clearly not eager to go in to help Malfoy.

"We could let it kill him," responded George. "Though it looks like it'll take its bloody time about it."

"If we don't defeat the creature," put in Fred thoughtfully from his vantage point on the wall, "we may not get the treasure."

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed. She sent her summoned air elemental against the second gargoyle, which hit it and threw it off balance a little. Ginny cast Magic Fang on her Dire Weasel, which then sank its teeth into the first gargoyle for good measure. Harry decided to follow Hermione's lead and went in to Draco's rescue, driving his sword into the second gargoyle.

Ron remained out of the fight, instead checking on his sister as the surviving monster bit and clawed Draco. Draco managed to disengage himself from combat, though the creature attempted one last swipe at him as he left. Fred fired his bow and missed, exploding the arrow against the far wall. The air elemental missed this time, but Hermione used her Wand of Magic Missile on the gargoyle to good effect. Ginny ran in and swung, her scimitar bouncing off the creature's thick skin, but her Dire Weasel managed to bite and get a hold. Harry made one final blow, knocking this one down.

Ginny gently urged her animal companion away, giving it some food. Everyone checked on wounds, of which there were few. Draco did his mystical self-healing as their earned treasure appeared on the floor: a pile of gold coins, an idol made of gold, a gold bracelet, and a simple coronet. Just as George was confirming that the only magical item was the coronet, the DM appeared. She looked a little different, but Harry couldn't quite place what was wrong.

"Congratulations!" she told them all. "Not only have you made your way into the fortress, but you have also all achieved 8th level."

"Are you pregnant?" Hermione asked the DM, before anyone could ask what she'd meant by the prior comment.

"Yes," said the DM. "It will be my second child, in fact."

"But you didn't look pregnant a few days ago," Ron protested, looking confused. The DM sighed.

"Time works differently for me than it does for you," she answered. "Let's just leave it at that. Oh, to save time, that item is a minor Circlet of Blasting. Also, because of all the monetary treasure you've had to leave behind, one of your group can exchange an ordinary weapon for a magic one with a +1 bonus."

"Well, I don't have one yet," Draco said, in a voice that implied he was expecting a struggle. "But I also want the Circlet of Blasting."

This started a major argument, of course. Harry opted not to get involved, as he felt the conflict was less over whether anyone else could make better use of the artifact and more that no one really wanted Malfoy to have anything that valuable. After several attempts to quiet the party, the DM raised her hands over her head, causing a loud thunderclap to resonate through the chamber.

"Sure, just tell the evil wizard where we are," accused Fred after a moment of shocked silence.

"Don't worry," said the DM with a careless wave of her hand. "While I am here, only you can hear what's going on in this room. Now, can we come to an agreement, or will I have to dictate to you to move things along?"

Ginny jumped in before the argument could start again.

"Why didn't Malfoy seem able to do anything against that thing?" she asked.

"An excellent question. It so happens that Gargoyles have a defense called damage reduction; they ignore most damage from non-magical weapons."

"All the more reason I should get a magic weapon," Draco added at this point, sticking his chin in the air stubbornly. "We may come up against more of these creatures."

No one really had a significant objection to this, as everyone else already had a magic weapon. He asked for his nunkachu (a weapon made of short, metal poles attached by a chain) to become magical, and the DM complied, concurrently causing the gold items to disappear.

"Now, I suggest that you also allow Mr. Malfoy the Circlet of Blasting. He has no ranged weapon other than his ordinary sling, and all the rest of you either have formidable spells, weapons, or other magic devices that can attack from a distance," the DM told everyone.

Although nobody (except Draco) seemed particularly happy with this arrangement, they couldn't deny that she was right. With the DM's oversight, the item was handed over.

"It's only good once a day, anyway," the Dungeon Master pointed out. "Now for the level issues. After you take the time to rest, you all will acquire your new level. Ron and Harry will get access to 2nd level spells for their classes. George, you may choose one new 0-level and one new Level 4 spell. Everyone also gets an increase to one ability; I have already determined what these will be. In addition, you will all become tougher, and everyone but George now has two attacks at a time. Ginny, you can now transform into a large animal, as well as the black bear. Once you have chosen the shape, it will be so. That covers the key things you need to know. Any questions?"

Harry thought he could come up with about a thousand, but he was unable to frame anything. The others just shook their heads, and the woman disappeared.

"Well, I suppose we ought to get that rest, then," said Harry at last. "This doesn't look all that secure, though."

"Let me take care of that," replied George cheerfully. "Gather round, everyone. Leomund's Tiny Hut!"

A shimmer appeared in a sort of dome around their group, but Harry didn't see any other difference.

"It's not much," George admitted, "but it will keep other creatures out. You guys can leave and enter at will, but no other living thing can. Arrows and stuff can penetrate, but it's opaque from the outside, so at least it enables us to see our enemies without them seeing us."

They set an order for keeping watch and prepared to bed down. Ginny decided that her new form would be a tiger. Harry was beginning to realize that Ginny was much more dangerous than he had previously thought her. Her strange affinity to animals and seeming disassociation from people was also rather disturbing. He hoped it was merely an effect of the part she was playing in this world.

Meanwhile, George was musing about the new spells he'd choose.

"What's the point of a new 0-level one?" he asked, mainly to himself. "I guess I'll pick Disrupt Undead; it seems likely we'll meet some in a place like this. As for 4th level…I'll learn Stoneskin. That should be useful."

The conversations began to fade as all the party members but Hermione, who had first watch, gradually chose portions of the dome and went to sleep.

* * *

Author's Note: I've been playing 4th edition D&D for about 2 years now, so this is really a blast from the past. Oh, and the son I was pregnant for at this point is now 6. How time flies!


	6. Chapter 6: Elves & Other Magical Creatur

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own either Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

Author's Note: This chapter requires a little explanation. Siofra the Elf was the user name of a young author on the Schnoogle family of Harry Potter fanfiction sites several years ago. I do not know whether she still writes or not, but she's probably in her 20s by now. Anyway, we read and enjoyed each other's stories, and she put me in a humorous one of hers. Therefore, I decided to make her a character in this story. The universal rift her character mentions was from one of her stories. There are other references to things I knew about her and some habitual phrases she used.

**Chapter 6 – Elves and Other Magical Creatures**

Harry awoke to Ron shaking his shoulder, letting him know it was his turn at watch. As Ron helped him with his armor, Harry again enjoyed the fact that he was not being awakened by nightmares for a change. It was still kind of a novelty to him, and knowing that it wouldn't last forever, he tried to revel in it.

Crossbow and shield held ready, Harry took up a position near the center of the dome. He watched as Ron went over to where Hermione lay sleeping. He sat down and just looked at her for a long moment. Then, he lay down beside her, not quite touching but probably taking comfort in her presence. Harry felt a mixture of things at this observation. Although he knew that none of them would remember what had taken place in this world, he nonetheless suspected that some understanding between Ron and Hermione would eventually come to pass in their own world. Harry thought he would be happy for them, but he couldn't help wondering where that would leave him. He knew they wouldn't desert him, but even so, the friendship between the three of them would never be quite the same after that bridge had been crossed.

Harry sighed and turned his attention to his guard duty, trying to keep his eyes on all sides at once. As his shift drew to a close, he could hear some of the others stirring. It was as though they were programmed to sleep only a certain amount. Suddenly, a section of the force field seemed to twist in on itself, and a tangle of brown hair and limbs tumbled through an opening that then sealed itself again.

"Darn universal rift," muttered the newcomer, whom Harry could now see was a short, skinny girl of about his own age. She stood up and began dusting herself off. Harry aimed his crossbow at her.

"Who are you?" he demanded, speaking loudly enough that he hoped it would alert his companions.

"What's going on here?" came another voice, before the girl could answer. It was the Dungeon Master, who was stepping out of thin air in the middle of the force field. Then she tilted her head, regarding the newcomer carefully. "Siofra? Is that you?"

The girl looked up in surprise.

"How did you – Liselle?" she said.

"No, not exactly. I'm the Dungeon Master."

By now, Harry was thoroughly confused.

"You two know each other?" he asked.

"In a manner of speaking," the DM replied. Then she turned back to the girl. "What are you doing here?"

The conversation was making enough noise that Harry's companions were now awake, alert, and watching the exchange with some interest.

"I don't know," Siofra answered with a shrug. "One minute I'm sitting at my computer, minding my own business, and the next I'm somersaulting into this…whatever this is. And what do you mean, you're not Liselle? You're pregnant, you're about the right age…."

"Liselle is the Author. She has complete control over everything that happens here, and she seems to be playing some sort of joke on me, or perhaps both of us. I am her Avatar, a projection of her to whom she has granted some of her authority. I control the settings and the monsters and so on, but she dictates everything else."

"So I'm in a fanfic," Siofra said, looking around curiously at Harry and his friends. "That means you must be Harry Potter, and Hermione, and a bunch of Weasleys, and…Draco? Funny, you're not attractive at all. You're skinny, pale, and your face is all pointy."

The DM rolled her eyes.

"Of course. This is the way Liselle envisions him from Rowling's descriptions, not a reflection of Tom Felton, and not some adolescent fantasy."

"You're no prize yourself," Draco sneered disdainfully to Siofra. "The opinion of a Muggle is worth less than nothing."

Harry felt as though his mind were being turned inside out trying to comprehend what he was hearing. Eventually, it gave up, and he decided to just move on ahead.

"So, what are we supposed to do now that she's here?" he asked, lowering his crossbow at last.

"Well, as long as you're here," shrugged the DM, turning to Siofra, "you might as well play a part. Let's see, you call yourself Siofra the Elf, so let's make you an elf. We've got too many humans here anyway."

With that, the girl's form began to shift and change. She grew no taller, but her form seemed to subtly mature, rounding in the right places and thinning in others. Her features became more pointed, especially the tops of her ears. Her eyes grew large, luminous, and nearly as green as Harry's own. Although her brown hair was still wavy and loose, it nevertheless now gave the impression that each strand was exactly where it was supposed to be. When the transformation was complete, Siofra's skin was also much paler than it had been, and her entire form conveyed an innate sense of grace. In addition, her casual clothing had been replaced by a loose, silky tunic and trousers in shades of blue and green. Siofra looked down at herself in excitement.

"Cool! Can I see what I look like?"

"Use Harry's shield," answered the DM. Though not perfectly polished, the steel of Harry's large shield was adequate to see a dim reflection. The girl-turned-elf looked at herself from different angles.

"This is really amazing. I'm so glad elves in this world are more like Lord of the Rings than, you know, house-elves. No offense to them, of course," Siofra added hastily, apparently afraid that Hermione would begin one of her tirades. "I only wish I could have been a little taller."

"Well, elves in this world only range from 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 feet tall, so you're still a little on the tall side. Now, you'll need a character. I'll make you a bard. Theoretically, you should probably be chaotic neutral, but I've already got two of those, and that's about all I can handle. I'll compromise and give you a neutral alignment. I'm giving you your spells right now. As for equipment, you'll have a +1 longsword, a light crossbow with a quiver of masterwork bolts, +2 bracers of armor, +2 ring of protection, a potion of Blur, a potion of Endurance, a Shield of Blinding but no other armor, and a Wand of Magic Missile, plus a few mundane trifles. And, of course, your musical instrument."

While the DM had been speaking, the various accoutrements had been appearing on Siofra's person. As she said this last, a stringed instrument appeared in Siofra's hands.

"How could you do this to me?" Siofra accused upon surveying it. "You know how I feel about the guitar!"

"Technically, it's a gittern," the DM responded mildly. "Besides, you'll be playing it, not some guy you find attractive, so what's the problem?"

Siofra merely continued to glare at the Dungeon Master while Harry and the others looked on in confusion. At last, the DM seemed to give in.

"Oh, fine. I guess it would be hard to defend yourself while playing a two-handed instrument anyway. You can just sing or recite poetry."

The gittern disappeared, and the DM looked around appraisingly.

"I think that's everything. Since you're all awake, you might as well get ready for the day. You can fill Siofra in on your mission in the meantime. Oh, and Siofra? No spoilers from OotP, please. This group hasn't lived through that year yet."

Siofra gave a mock salute, and the DM disappeared to her own universe or whatever.

As the group ate, prepared spells, and so on, Harry explained to Siofra about the evil wizard and the fortress, briefly outlining the battles they'd fought so far. Meanwhile, Siofra told a little about herself, including the fact that she came from a place in America called Texas. Hermione made sure everyone was fully healed, George banished his force field, and the newly expanded group headed, weapons at the ready, toward the double doors at the far end of the hall. The doors were not locked. A large staircase lay on the other side, climbing up to a landing and then turning to the right. It was laden with dust and cobwebs.

As they progressed up the staircase, the spider webs grew gradually larger, and spiders could be seen sitting in some of them. It was not clear what they ate, however, as Harry did not observe any insects.

"I don't like this," commented Ron, skirting the webs as well as he could.

At the top of the stairs was another door. This, too, was unlocked, and Fred found no traps, so they all filed into the small room. Extremely large spider webs filled two corners. Otherwise, the room appeared to be completely empty.

"I _really _don't like this," Ron asserted. His eyes darted around as he gripped his swords so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Suddenly, a large, gray spider appeared behind him and sank its mandibles into his neck. Ron's knees buckled a little, as though he'd taken a heavy blow. Before anyone could respond, the spider tried to bite Ron again. This time, however, he knew it was there and managed to evade it enough that the bite landed harmlessly on his leather-clad shoulder.

Meanwhile, another spider appeared beside Siofra and attempted to bite her, but she dodged it. Hermione rushed in to aid Ron, hitting the spider squarely with her mace. Draco utilized the Circlet of Blasting he had just obtained to attack the second spider, causing it to recoil away from Siofra. George used his Magic Missiles to help his brother, while Ron turned and hit his spider with both swords, knocking it down. Siofra struck the spider near her with her longsword. Ginny ignored the fighting and ran to Ron, casting a Neutralize Poison spell on him when she reached his side. Fred shot the remaining spider with his shocking shortbow, and Harry also ran over and sank his sword into it.

This second spider then disappeared as quickly as it had come. Hermione, in an uncharacteristic display, gave a killing blow to the first spider before kneeling to attend to Ron.

"You're not badly injured," she told him after checking him over, "but that poison was strong. You need to rest."

"I was only able to prevent it doing any further damage," Ginny fretted. "I couldn't stop what had already been done."

Hermione nodded in understanding. Ron took hold of her arm and spoke seriously.

"I can't stay here. What if that other one comes back?"

"It won't," Fred answered confidently. "It was pretty badly hurt."

Still, the fear in Ron's eyes was unmistakable as he silently pleaded with Hermione to let him move on. At last, she relented.

"All right. But we don't know what's in the next room, so I need to do something first." With that, she placed her hands on Ron's head and murmured, "Restoration."

The change was subtle, but Ron suddenly looked somehow more fit and energetic.

"Thank you," he said simply, holding her hand for a moment.

"Squee!" uttered Siofra, which was completely incomprehensible to Harry. Almost immediately, however, the room began to shake, and a voice reverberated around the room.

"You shall not say 'squee,'" said the voice. "In fact, you will find that you are no longer able to say it in this world. It is extremely annoying. Furthermore, Siofra, if you should chance to say a phrase containing the words 'fancy the pants off,' dire circumstances will result. You are warned."

"Okay, okay," said Siofra. "Sheesh. It's not enough that I get sucked into this imaginary world against my will, but I get censored, too."

"It's not censorship; it's editing," the voice responded defensively, and then it was gone. Siofra shrugged.

Harry thought that Siofra seemed very nonchalant about some all-powerful voice from above talking to her, but he decided to let it go.

Fred found no traps on the next door, but it did have a heavy padlock on it. After working at it for a while, he managed to spring it open. Harry and Ron moved in first, the others following. The room was quite long, probably sixty feet, but not terribly wide. Along one wall ran a high row of narrow windows, shedding a faint light but leaving some corners in shadow. Chains of various kinds were attached to the walls on either side of Harry, as well as some nasty-looking iron implements, leading Harry to believe that this had been used to house prisoners. A movement in the far corner caught his attention, and he saw what appeared to be a well-formed female figure sitting on the floor, though her face was in shadow.

"Who are you? Have you come to rescue me?" a feminine voice asked in a meek tone. Automatically, Harry moved toward her, but a chorus of "Stop!" from behind him halted his steps. He looked over and saw that Hermione was holding Ron's shoulder to keep him back as well.

"Something's not right," said Siofra distrustfully in a low tone.

"I don't know why, but she wants us to get closer," Hermione added. "I think we should stay back."

At their admonitions, Harry used one of his innate abilities and detected evil emanating from that corner.

"They're right," he said to Ron. "Whatever that is, it's evil."

Wasting no more time, Fred fired his shock shortbow, hitting the female creature with the arrow and its electricity. Draco took out his sling and sent off a bullet, but it went wide. Ron rapidly sheathed his two swords and drew his bow, readying an arrow on the string. Hermione drew out her Wand of Magic Missile and sent three missiles into the thing. The woman-like creature stood, revealing a hideous face wreathed by snakes instead of hair. Before Harry really had time to register this, it activated something it had around its neck, sending a Fireball into the midst of them. George and Siofra were too far in the rear for it to reach them, but Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Fred all got badly burned. Draco, as usual, dodged out of the way. It appeared that Ginny's Dire Weasel had avoided the worst of the fire, as well, though it still looked badly off when the flames subsided. Siofra quickly fired two crossbow bolts into the creature, and George shot off his own Fireball at the far end of the room. The thing jumped aside but was still burned enough to fall unconscious. Wanting to be certain it was dead, Harry sheathed his sword, drew his crossbow, and finished it off.

While Ginny rushed to heal her animal companion, Harry and Siofra moved forward to investigate what they had just killed. Some of the others followed cautiously behind.

"It's a Medusa," Siofra said. "Good thing we didn't get any closer. Their gaze can turn you to stone if you get within 30 feet."

"Like a basilisk?" Harry asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. They lose the ability when they're dead, though."

"In Greek mythology, they were called Gorgons," Hermione protested. "One of them just happened to be _named_ Medusa."

"Well, in this world, they're called Medusas, and Gorgons are something else," Siofra answered firmly. "Don't ask me how I know; I just know certain things. I think it's called Bardic Knowledge."

It was a fairly simple matter to determine that the necklace the Medusa wore was a Necklace of Fireballs with 6 beads still unused. The other treasure she possessed was a sizeable amount of gold pieces and two gems that Fred declared weren't worth much.

Fred expressed an interest in the Necklace of Fireballs after George declared he didn't need it, being able to cast more powerful Fireballs on his own. Surprisingly, there was no argument on this, so Fred put it on. Hermione put her wand away and looked around to see if anyone wished healing. Although nearly everyone had been burned, they mutually agreed that they could get through one more battle first.

Taking a deep breath, Harry turned towards the door at this end of the chamber. Fred checked it, and found that it was unlocked and free of traps. He opened it to reveal another set of stairs. The group looked at each other and prepared to forge ahead into another level of the dark fortress.

* * *

Author's Note: Getting into a little shippiness here. You know I just had to have Ron attacked by a giant spider. Oh, and I suppose you might like to know how long this story is. It's actually pretty short, compared to most of my multi-chapter stories. It has 12 total chapters, including an epilogue.

Response to Sharnorasian Empire: There's actually a lot I like about 4e. For one thing, spellcasters are more equal members of the group. In 3rd edition, the low-level wizard could cast about 5 spells before having to rest for a day. Now they have just as many powers as anyone else. I also hated the spell preparation rule, especially for divine characters, so I had a house rule that it wasn't necessary to decide at the beginning of each day which spells you were preparing (you may notice that I've employed that here). As a DM, 4e makes it much easier to put together challenging, interesting encounters because the challenge rating isn't based on one creature at a time.


	7. Chapter 7: Giants, Tigers, Ogres, Oh My

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter (although I do own the 7 books, the two supplemental books about Quidditch and Magical Creatures, and several DVDs) or Dungeons & Dragons (but I do own a small fortune in Wizards of the Coast products).

**Chapter 7 – Giants and Tigers and Ogres, Oh My!**

The staircase the party now ascended was very narrow, forcing them to walk single file. This made Harry nervous for many reasons. At the top, the stairs opened onto a large landing with a double door. Fred checked the door and found it to be clear, and Harry moved to open it. George stopped him, though.

"I think we should do some preparation, first," he said. "I'm planning to use Mage Armor and Stoneskin on myself. Would anyone else like Stoneskin?"

Ginny did, so George obligingly cast those spells. When that was done, he took out a scroll and cast Darkvision on Harry, explaining that Harry would find it useful in assuming the lead position.

Now Harry peered through the door. Seeing nothing in the large room ahead, he opened both doors to allow their group to enter two at a time.

Harry and Ron walked in cautiously, followed by Ginny and Hermione. The light from George's Continual Flame barely reached Harry, though this hardly bothered him since he could now see in the dark for 60 feet. His vision was in black-and-white, however, which took a little getting used to. He had ventured about 20 feet into the room when the large flagstone under his right foot depressed about 3 inches.

"Oh, that can't be good," he muttered, stepping back off it. Of course, it was too late. There was a horrible grinding of stone on stone, and Harry could see a portion of the far wall slowly lifting. He turned to see what the others were doing and found Fred and George pressing their hands against an invisible wall that had apparently formed directly in front of them. Harry swore under his breath. They couldn't go back, and whatever was coming at them, only he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would be able to face it.

"What's that noise?" asked Ginny nervously, peering uselessly toward the end of the room.

"There's a piece of the far wall that's some kind of door or gate," Harry answered, readying his crossbow. "It's pulling up into the ceiling very slowly."

Ron pulled a small object out of his belt pouch and waited.

"Karma, light," Hermione murmured, tossing a now-lighted coin into the middle of the room. The illumination it created didn't quite reach the other end of the hall, so Harry was still the only one who could see the ponderously rising door.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ginny's outline blur and assumed she was changing form. Hermione drew her mace and cast Divine Favor to aid her in battle. Ron didn't move but kept his eyes on the circle of light in the middle of the floor. By this time, the door had retreated far enough toward the ceiling that Harry could make out two sets of large, muscular legs, two torsos bearing three arms each, and two misshapen heads. He quickly fired two crossbow bolts, both of which landed solidly into the body of the one on the right. The creature scarcely seemed to notice, however, as it and its companion emerged and moved quickly toward the adventurers. As soon as the one on the left was visible to Ron, he threw something at it, which exploded on contact and encased the three-armed giant in a transparent sphere.

"Athach!" Ron muttered, almost to himself. It sounded like some sort of curse, but Harry had no idea what it meant.

The trapped giant was beating against its confinement with a club on either side; the third arm, protruding out from the middle of the chest, was apparently of little use to it.

An orange tiger leaped out from behind Harry and pounced on the other monster, clawing it ferociously. Harry assumed that was Ginny in her new fighting form and noted that she seemed to avoid biting it. Harry didn't blame her; the things smelled horrendous. The Dire Weasel, however, had followed her; it did attempt to bite and missed. Hermione stepped forward, though not quite far enough to engage in melee combat, and shouted "Holy Smite!" The creature howled and threw one arm over its eyes. Harry decided to take that opportunity to charge in. He ran up to the thing's left side and thrust his sword into it. The giant flailed blindly, hitting Ginny with a club, but she shrugged it off. Harry then saw Ron, sword drawn, coming around the giant's other side.

The Ginny-tiger continued to claw, and the Dire Weasel made another bite attempt, this time catching the large ankle and holding on. Hermione moved up and struck the creature's right side with her mace; Harry swung his sword twice, penetrating once. The giant apparently regained its sight and hit both Ginny and Hermione. Ginny, again, hardly seemed to notice, but Hermione reeled back slightly with the blow. Ron sliced it from behind with his sword. Ginny clawed once more, and the creature fell down, lifeless. Only then did the Dire Weasel let go. Hermione looked over the fallen giant for a moment.

"It's dead," she confirmed. She looked over toward the other creature, and the others followed her gaze. The second giant had stopped beating at the cramped sphere and appeared to be resigned to waiting for the spell to run out. Ginny returned to human form.

"What did you call these things?" she asked Ron.

"Athach," he replied. "That's what they are. They like to collect jewelry and stuff, though the way they look, who knows why?"

Ron gestured toward the dead Athach, and Harry saw he was right. It was wearing a silver bracelet with a blue gem mounted on it. Of greater interest to him, however, was the wand at its side. He drew it away and showed it to Hermione.

"Do you recognize what kind of wand this is?" he asked her. She studied it for a moment, then nodded and pointed to a symbol on the handle.

"Cure Moderate Wounds," she explained. "This could prove very useful."

"I suggest we use it now," Harry said, taking it from her and using it to heal some of her injuries. "Anyone else?"

"Thanks to George's spell, I hardly felt a thing," Ginny shrugged. "And my transformation healed some of what that Fireball did. I'm fine."

Ron and Harry had not been hit, so they decided they didn't need healing yet, either. Harry put the wand in his bag.

"What was that you threw at it?" Hermione asked Ron, nodding at the still-trapped Athach.

"Bead of Force," he replied.

"How long do you think it'll last?" wondered Ginny.

"About ten or fifteen minutes. What about that invisible wall behind us?"

Hermione and Ginny both went to examine it.

"Wall of Force?" Ginny asked, looking to Hermione for confirmation. Hermione nodded.

"Can you do anything about it?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Hermione answered. "This was cast by a powerful wizard. None of us could do anything to dispel or destroy it."

"So, there's nothing to do now but wait?" said Ron. "Well, we might as well try to rest a little."

He sat down on the stone floor, and the others followed suit. They drank from their waterskins and tried to relax a little, though keeping weapons at the ready. Harry located the trick stone with his eyes, trying to make sure he wouldn't step on it again.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about this thing?" Harry asked Ron.

"Well, they're not very bright. Oh, and try not to let it bite you. Their saliva is poisonous."

After Harry estimated that nearly ten minutes had passed, the four stood up again and readied themselves for the Athach to again be free.

"When it first gets free, stand back for a bit," Ginny said. "I'm going to cast a strong spell toward it that will cover a certain area around it."

The others nodded, and Harry readied his sword and shield. Eventually, the transparent sphere disappeared, and the Athach's large feet hit the ground again. At precisely the same moment, the wall behind Harry vanished as well, and Fred and George stumbled quickly forward (apparently, they had been leaning against the magic barrier), followed closely by Draco and Siofra.

Fred recovered his footing and fired off two arrows; the first one struck the giant with a burst of electricity. Siofra, not missing a beat, used her Wand of Magic Missile on it, and Ginny cast her promised spell, enveloping the creature in a cylinder of fire. The Athach charged Ginny and hit her with a club; again, the Stoneskin spell absorbed most of the blow. Ron was close enough to take one step forward and strike twice with his longsword; his first strike couldn't penetrate the thick skin, but his second opened a wound in the monster's side.

"Bless," Hermione said, stepping back out of the fray. Harry immediately felt a little stronger and more confident. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Draco also moving back.

"Magic Missile!" George shouted, following Siofra's lead and hitting the Athach with magical energy. Harry, angry at having watched Ginny get hit right next to him, made two large strokes with his sword. One found its target and sank deeply into the creature's innards.

Another Magic Missile from Siofra impacted the Athach. Ginny tried to slice twice with her scimitar; the first struck the hide without entering the skin, and her second failed to connect. She uttered a low growl of frustration. The Dire Weasel darted in, trying to bite, but it, too, failed. The Athach bit Ginny's shoulder, and Ginny lowered her scimitar as though it had become suddenly much heavier. This seemed to give Ron new strength as he hit with both his sword strikes this time.

"Spiritual Weapon," Hermione called out, and a magical mace appeared in midair, hitting the giant's head. George sent out a Ray of Frost and touched the creature with it, though Harry couldn't see whether it accomplished anything.

Harry struck the Athach one more time, causing it to go down. Fred came up with his rapier drawn and plunged it into the area one would assume the heart to be.

"It was still breathing," he explained.

Harry went to Ginny and lay down his sword and shield.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her damaged shoulder.

"The poison; it sapped my strength," she answered, sinking down to the floor. Harry followed her there, wondering what to do. He laid his hands on her, murmuring a prayer. The wound closed, and some of the burns she'd acquired earlier healed, but he knew the poison was still coursing through her bloodstream.

"Can you do what you did for Ron?" he asked worriedly. "If not, I have some potions…."

"No; I got it," Ginny said and closed her eyes. Then she touched her own chest with one hand, gestured with the other, and said, "Neutralize Poison."

Harry didn't see any immediate improvement. Then he remembered what she'd said after casting that spell on Ron – that she could only prevent the poison from doing any further damage. She was still lacking in strength.

"Hermione," he called to the Cleric. "Can you…?"

Hermione checked over the smaller girl quickly.

"Yes, I can restore her," she said. "I'll need to rest after that, though."

"That's probably a good idea for all of us, anyway."

Taking his cue, George again cast Leomund's Tiny Hut over everyone. The room was perhaps not the best place to settle in, especially since the stone door at the other end was still wide open, but they had no better alternative at the moment.

"Do you think you could be any more useless?" Ron rounded on Draco, who had stayed out of the fight. Ron carefully cleaned his swords before sheathing them, clearly not expecting any kind of answer.

"Why should I fight something that hasn't attacked me?" was Draco's response, chin lifted in disdain. "I have no reason to help any of you."

"Only that we're helping keep you alive," Fred put in casually.

"Ha!" Draco replied. "Keeping me alive is incidental. You're just trying to survive yourselves. I can't risk getting myself hurt when I don't know if anyone will be willing to heal me."

"If you got killed, you could go home," Siofra pointed out. Draco seemed to think that over for a moment, but he said nothing more.

Hermione and Ginny used the last of their spells to heal everyone who needed it. They agreed to rest for an entire day. Meanwhile, Fred was going through the second giant's body. Looking over his shoulder, Harry saw that it had some gold pieces, a mug that looked more decorative than functional, and was wearing a necklace. In addition, it was carrying a particularly well-made sling.

"Hey, Ginny," Harry said, calling her over. "Do you think you could use that?"

Ginny picked up the sling and turned it over in her hands.

"Yes; it's excellent," she answered. Then she went to George to ask him to find out if it was magical. George confirmed that it was, and Ginny's eyes lit up. "Even better!"

"I will take responsibility for this new healing wand," Harry stated rather formally, looking around as though daring anyone to question him. No one did.

Since it had not been long since they had awakened, no one was really tired yet. They simply sat back and relaxed, ate some food, and drank a little water. Eventually, people began to sleep in shifts. After 16 hours, George re-set his protection spell and went to sleep. At last, everyone was fully rested, and all the spellcasters had done their meditations for the day. Harry had just finished buckling his armor back on. Suddenly, Siofra looked around sharply, sword at the ready. Although the Hut was transparent from the inside, the room outside was dark, and the Continual Flame was in the middle of the dome, only extending as far as the dome itself. She came over to Harry.

"Something's out there," she whispered. "I heard some noises, then it suddenly stopped. And now, there are Ogres on either side of us."

Harry instinctively knew that elves had better senses than humans, so he believed her. Since his Darkvision spell had worn off long ago, he could no longer see in the dark. He nodded to her, readied his sword and shield, and they both went around to quietly spread the word.

Before they were quite done, two giant longspears flew into the Hut, one from either side. Neither came close to hitting anyone, but they confirmed that the party was under attack. Fred took a potion and began rising off the floor, shortbow in hand.

"Greater Magic Weapon!" announced Siofra, holding her sword tightly. Harry cast Bless on everyone.

"Get ready, everyone," George called out, then he gestured, and the Hut was no longer surrounding them. The Continual Flame spell only lit the former dimensions of the Hut, however, so Harry still couldn't see what they were fighting. Hermione cast Light on her mace, illuminating that side of the room and revealing one Ogre wielding a very large club. Draco ran into the darkness on the opposite side as Ron shot two arrows into the Ogre.

"Faerie Fire," said Ginny from across the room, but Harry's attention was fixed on the Ogre in front of him and the actions of Ron and Hermione. This was a good thing because the Ogre advanced on him immediately and slammed him with his club, hard. Harry had grown so accustomed to his armor protecting him from hits that the pain surprised him. Also odd was the complete silence that had enveloped him ever since the Ogre had approached him. Although Harry could see that the club's blow had dented his armor, it had made no sound.

Fred, hovering above, tried to shoot at the Ogre but missed completely, possibly due to his effort not to accidentally hit Harry. Harry then swung at the creature with all his might. His first sword stroke downed it; he gave it a second to make sure it was dead. Breathing heavily, he turned to see what was going on in the rest of the room, since he could hear nothing. On the other side of the room, against the darkness, he saw the glowing green outline of another Ogre-like figure lying prone on the ground. Even as he watched, George fired four bursts of magical energy into it, Hermione started to move in that direction, and Draco backed slightly away from it. Suddenly, a cone of magical energy came from above, hitting George, Ron, Hermione, and Siofra. Harry looked up to see a creature he was not familiar with. Although bearing a slight resemblance to the Ogres, this had blue skin and horns on top of its head. Also, it was flying freely and could obviously do magic. Ron shifted his aim to the flying mage and hit it solidly twice.

Meanwhile, Ginny crossed to the prone Ogre, being very careful of her footing, and slashed it with her scimitar. Her Dire Weasel followed her but stayed back a short distance, eyeing something on the ground suspiciously. The second Ogre managed to stand up, but Ginny took that opportunity to hit it again.

Fred shot two arrows at the flying creature but missed and was apparently losing control of his floating position. Siofra successfully slashed the standing Ogre. Harry, making a quick decision, decided to move in that direction. Emerging back into sound, he heard George cast Ray of Enfeeblement and Hermione cast Searing Light. In front of him, Draco hit the Ogre enough to knock it out, and Ginny finished it off.

Harry turned to see that the blue Ogre had landed and drawn a huge sword and that Ron had put his bow away and was now bearing both swords. As Harry watched, Fred lowered himself to the ground and shouldered his own bow. Siofra ran in to swing her sword at it but missed; Harry took his turn to step in with his blade, but he couldn't penetrate the creature's thick hide.

"Magic Missile," shouted George, firing four bursts of energy. However, they somehow had no effect. Seeing that, Hermione touched Ron and cast Bull's Strength on him. The monster swung her (Harry could now tell it was female) large sword at Harry but overbalanced and fell down. Taking his advantage, Ron used both of his swords to kill her.

Harry quickly looked around to see if any new threats were present. Seeing none, he evaluated the dead creature at his feet.

"That's an Ogre Mage," Ron put in. "She was probably the leader of this group."

Harry carefully removed the large sword from the Ogre Mage's hand. It was a well-made weapon, and he was very impressed. Unfortunately, it was much too large for him to use, even two-handed. This Ogre Mage had to be about 8 feet tall. On the other hand…he turned to their Cleric as an idea came to him.

"Hermione, don't you have a Potion of Enlarge?" he asked her.

"Yes, why?"

"Can we put this sword in the Portable Hole? Then, when we get ready for the final battle with the wizard, I can take the Potion and be large enough to use this sword effectively."

"Well, okay," Hermione replied, frowning in thought. "You're going to have to time it perfectly, though, because it only lasts 5 minutes."

She took out the Portable Hole and put the sword in it. She left it out in case anyone else found something to put in there. She also handed over the potion.

"Wait a bit," Draco broke in. "If you're going to take that potion, you should give up something you're carrying."

"The little ferret does have a point," Fred added, coming away from the Ogre he'd been rifling. "By the way, nothing of interest really on that Ogre. Just some silver and that huge club no one can use."

"The same with the other," Siofra commented, who had searched the second. Of course, there were the gigantic longspears already thrown at the group, which were also too unwieldy to use.

Meanwhile, Harry had been thinking about the magic items he had and considering what he might be able to give up without sacrificing his effectiveness. He smiled and turned to Draco.

"All right," he said. Then he took out one of his potion vials and tossed it to Malfoy. "Take a Neutralize Poison potion. Save us the trouble of healing you if you get poisoned."

Draco caught the vial deftly. He spared a dark look for Harry, but he accepted the potion regardless.

"Now, this is interesting," George said, taking a magic wand from the Ogre Mage's side and studying it. "Wand of Silence."

"Well, that explains why it was so quiet around those two," Siofra commented. "She must have used it on both of them to disguise their movements."

"Oh yeah, what happened over there?" Harry queried then, remembering. "I couldn't hear anything, but I saw that Ogre on the ground and Ginny watching her step."

"Siofra cast Grease under it after I cast Faerie Fire so I could see where it was," Ginny replied, grinning. "It was brilliant, really."

"Why, thank you," Siofra acknowledged with mock modesty, bowing slightly.

"Anyway, does anyone want it?" George returned to the topic. "I don't know how useful it will be, but it is valuable."

After a pause, Ron shrugged and reached for the wand.

"I haven't claimed any treasure in a while," he said, adding it to his belt.

Harry and George took turns using their cure moderate wands to heal those who were injured. To conserve their resources, they only used one charge per person. Meanwhile, Siofra had been moving around the perimeter of the room, and she made a wordless exclamation.

"I found a secret door over here!" she announced excitedly. Fred went over quickly to check it for traps and figure out how to open it. He found the control and looked at everyone else questioningly. Harry came up to join him, and the others assembled themselves into the order they would enter the next room.

Harry nodded to Fred, and he opened the door.

* * *

Author's Note: Elves are quite good at spotting secret doors, which was fortunate. A bit of a cliffhanger, but you only have to wait until tomorrow. If I'm in the mood, I might even post another chapter later tonight.

Review responses:

Sharnorasian Empire: Yes, that's one way around it. After I'd read the class descriptions for the very first time in 3rd edition, the first thing I thought was, Why would anyone play a wizard when you can be a sorcerer? Wizards had so many limitations.

Cedric Inuzuka: So glad to have you reading! Yes, there will be some Harry/Ginny; hopefully, you caught the hint of it here. However, it develops slowly because Harry hadn't really looked at Ginny that way yet at this point in the books.


	8. Chapter 8: Heads and Hearts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons

Author's Note: This chapter contains a critical failure – can you spot it? And to Cedric, who ordered some Harry/Ginny, this chapter is for you!

**Chapter 8 – Heads and Hearts**

What struck Harry immediately about the room he and Fred now entered together was that it was nearly filled with a large beast that had entirely too many heads. There was a light source somewhere, allowing Harry to view the monster in all its dangerous glory. Before he could even react, two of the heads on the left bit him, their long, sharp teeth piercing right through his plate mail. He could see two of the right-hand heads snap at Fred, but it looked like he managed to dodge one of them.

"Chop off the heads and burn the stumps!" Ron shouted, suiting action to words as he ran over to the far right and severed one head. Fred, bearing only a rapier unsuitable for slicing, retreated to the right, beyond Ron.

"Flame Blade," said Ginny's voice, but Harry could not yet see her. George stepped out, touched Harry on the shoulder, cast Bull's Strength on him, and withdrew back to the other room. Hermione cast the same spell. Harry couldn't see on whom she had cast it, but as Siofra stepped out to the left immediately after, he guessed it was her. Siofra went to the head at the extreme left and chopped at it. She nearly got through it, but the stroke was apparently not powerful enough because it closed up again as soon as she pulled her sword away. Harry could now see that there had been six heads originally.

Harry swung at the head immediately in front of him (third from the left), severed it, and took a step to the left to strike the next one. He hit it, but not enough to cut it off. Two remaining heads attacked Ron, which he avoided; one bit Harry; and the other bit Siofra. Siofra now seemed to be hurt pretty badly.

In a movement so fast Harry could scarcely see it, Ron sheathed his shortsword and brought his freed left hand up to join the other on the longsword. He then swung twice in rapid succession, taking off both of the heads remaining on his side. Behind him, Fred put his rapier away but seemed not to know what else to do. Ginny, bearing a 3-foot length of fire in her hand, ran over to the far right and cauterized the first stump Ron had severed. George and Hermione both dashed out to either side of Siofra. George cast Bull's Strength on her again, and Hermione magically healed some of her wounds. Both spellcasters then stepped back away from the elf.

Siofra attacked the head again with renewed strength; unfortunately, she missed completely and managed only to drive the point of her sword between two stones in the floor. Muttering under her breath, she let go of it.

Harry decided to follow Ron's example and dropped his shield so that he could lend the strength of his left hand to his sword, then chopped off the next head. The last head bit Siofra again, and Ron came around and severed it.

"Get back!" Fred called out, but Harry scarcely had time to register this before he was enveloped in a Fireball. He managed to avoid the worst of it and noted that the now-headless beast, George, Siofra, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had also been burned.

Ginny dispelled her blade of fire and turned to Fred.

"Was that really necessary?" she yelled at him angrily. Harry remembered that Fred had a Necklace of Fireballs and must have activated it.

Meanwhile, George used his Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds on Siofra, who was looking almost as bad as she had before Hermione healed her, and Hermione turned to heal Ron.

Suddenly, an extremely ugly woman with purple skin and black hair appeared at the far end of the room. She pointed directly at Harry and spoke in a language he didn't recognize. He guessed she was trying to cast a spell on him, but he felt nothing. Siofra decided to abandon her sword for the time being and began to sing. Her voice was clear and beautiful, and the music immediately led Harry to feel a little more confident. Harry noted that Hermione was now the most injured member of the party and laid his hands on her to heal as much as he could. Draco finally entered the room, saw the woman, and activated his Circlet of Blasting. However, it had no noticeable effect.

Ron charged towards the new threat, still wielding his sword in both hands. He struck what should have been a powerful blow, but it did nothing. Fred pulled his rapier back out of his sheath and began to circle around behind the woman. Ginny drew her new sling and fired, hitting her solidly in the chest. George fired four Magic Missiles that seemed to have no effect.

"That's a Night Hag! She's immune to fire and cold!" Hermione called out. She then invoked karma and cast Holy Smite. While this did nothing to the Hag, Fred reeled as though hit.

The Night Hag sent four bursts of energy into Ginny, who held her ground. While Siofra continued to sing, Harry decided to go into melee combat with the monster. After seeing what had already happened, he had little hope that he could actually harm her. However, he reasoned that he might be able to help distract the Hag long enough for Fred to get in with his powerful sneak attack. Leaving his shield where he had dropped it, Harry attacked the crone two-handed, failing to even break the skin. Draco came in on the opposite side with his unarmed attack but also accomplished nothing.

Ron swung twice more; the second stroke went in, but the Hag's very flesh seemed to force the blade back out, healing as it went. Fred finally got his opportunity and stabbed her in the back, and given the Hag's lack of reaction, she didn't even feel it.

"Would you all get out of the way?" Ginny shouted, apparently holding her attack for fear of accidentally hitting one of the other combatants.

George tried his Magic Missile attack again with the same result as earlier, and Hermione began chanting a spell. The Night Hag bit Ron's arm, leaving a gaping wound. Deciding that only Ginny could defeat this particular monster, Harry heeded her request and retreated. The Hag took the opportunity to bite him on the neck. Draco also pulled back.

Ron gave one more swing before he and Fred withdrew, leaving Ginny an open target. Ginny fired the sling twice but missed both shots and began cursing. George cast Bull's Strength on Ginny to give her an additional edge, and Hermione cast Aid. At the same time, a strange, birdlike creature appeared and shot a ray of electricity at the Night Hag, successfully hurting her. The Hag fired four more Magic Missiles into Ginny, apparently still seeing her as the biggest threat. Not knowing what else to do, Harry sheathed his sword and used his remaining spell to cure a little of the hit Ginny had just taken.

Ron and Fred simply stood back helplessly as Ginny shot two more sling bullets; one found its target. George cast Cat's Grace on Ginny, doubtless hoping to improve her accuracy. The bird-thing shot another electricity ray, and at almost the same moment, Hermione cast a spell.

"Searing Light," she called out, and this one finally worked. The bright beam of light hit squarely, and the Hag dropped to the floor like a stone. Siofra stopped singing and bent down to try and retrieve her sword. Fred and Ron moved cautiously toward the fallen body. Ginny began to collapse with exhaustion, but Harry caught her. He gave a nod to George, who put up the protective dome once more.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked worriedly as he lowered Ginny gently to the floor.

"I'll be fine," she answered, sinking back towards him gratefully. "Just coming down from the adrenaline rush, I think. You're hurt worse than I am," she added, quickly evaluating his condition. Before Harry could stop her, Ginny used a curing spell on him, healing nearly all of the bites he'd received.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"Same goes for you," was her answer, apparently referring to his healing of her earlier. In response, Harry drew out his curing wand and used it on her.

"You were amazing," Harry changed the subject. She wrinkled her nose and snorted.

"Not at all. If I'd been amazing, I wouldn't have missed so much." She pulled away from him slightly, stood, and shifted to her black bear form and back twice. When she was done, she was completely uninjured.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Harry insisted, getting to his feet also. "No one can hit a target _all_ the time."

Meanwhile, the six-headed creature's body had disappeared, leaving behind a small pile of gold coins that everyone ignored. Ron and Fred came back from where they had been searching the Night Hag's body and dropped the treasure on the floor. The monster's body subsequently vanished. There were more gold pieces, two potion vials, a scroll, and an odd-looking stone.

"Harry and Ron, I want to have a good look at you both," Hermione said. "The Night Hag's bite can spread disease."

"I'm immune to all disease," Harry pointed out, though he was not sure how he knew this. Hermione accepted this without comment.

"I'm fine," Ron asserted. Hermione checked him anyway, on the grounds that the disease had an incubation period of days, so he wouldn't necessarily know he was sick yet. In the end, however, she was forced to admit that he was as healthy as might be expected.

"This is a Potion of Levitate, which I'm going to take if no one minds," Siofra had managed to free her sword from the floor and was surveying the treasure. Then, she pointed to the other one. "This one's Endurance; I recognize it because I have one myself."

"Oh, can I have that?" asked George. Everyone either nodded or shrugged, so he added it to his gear.

"What's the scroll?" Ginny wondered.

"It's got three spells, all divine," Ron replied, handing it over.

"Sanctuary, Invisibility to Undead, and Summon Monster I," Ginny read aloud. "You'd better take this, Hermione; you're the only one who can cast them anyway."

Hermione did so, and Harry entered the conversation.

"What's the stone?"

"That's her heartstone," Hermione said. "Night Hags make them for themselves, and it can add to your resistance and heal diseases. But it's destroyed after you use it 10 times, if you're not a Night Hag. I won't touch it."

Harry agreed, seeing it as an evil object. Draco, being evil himself, picked it up and pocketed it.

"What was that first spell you cast?" Fred said then, turning to Hermione. "It didn't hurt her, but it sure hit me hard."

"I'm sorry; I forgot Holy Smite affects neutral people, too."

"Serves you right," Ron jumped to Hermione's defense, rounding on Fred. "What was the idea of hitting us all with that Fireball earlier?"

"It was only a little one, and I was trying to seal up the stumps, like you said."

"By then, all the heads were cut off. It was dead!"

"I didn't know that!"

"OK, boys, boys, break it up," Siofra inserted herself between the yelling brothers. "This is hardly productive."

The Weasley tempers cooled as quickly as they had flared, and there were apologies all around. Harry looked around to see who was still hurt. Siofra looked the worst for wear, so he used the wand to heal her completely. Hermione, as an apology to Fred, gave him one small curing spell. George healed himself with his own curing wand. This left Ron bearing the most wounds, but he refused all help, insisting he was all right.

Everyone's trail rations had run out by now, so Hermione used one of her last spells to conjure food and water for the group. Even though everyone was now mostly cured, the spellcasters, especially Hermione, needed to recharge, so the group decided to rest for another 24 hours.

Harry was actually rather tired now, physically at least. He picked up his shield and retreated to one side of the dome. He was confused by the feelings he was suddenly beginning to feel towards Ginny, and he needed to think about it for a little while. He cleaned his sword as he thought, then removed his armor and began working to beat out the dent caused in it earlier by the Ogre's club. There was little he could do about the punctures at the moment, so he decided to leave them.

After several hours, Harry had only managed to reach the conclusion that he was attracted to the youngest Weasley. Looking at her furtively from about ten feet away, he truly recognized for the first time that she had aged. He remembered that the DM had said they were mostly aged to suit the characters they had taken. Instinctively, he knew that humans were considered adult at 16 here. That meant that Fred and George had stayed at their actual age of 17, and the rest of them (except Siofra, whose real age he didn't know and who was now an elf in any case) became 16. This created the odd situation that Harry and Ginny were now the same age, though he was used to being one year older.

The two years looked good on her. Ginny had taken off her rhino hide armor, and she definitely had more curves than Harry remembered. At the same time, this body was far leaner and more muscular than the "real" Ginny was likely to become. Harry found that he could only have pure thoughts about the girl, despite his close scrutiny of her body. Although this was strange, Harry was grateful. He would have felt intensely uncomfortable having "normal" teenage fantasies about Ginny with three of her brothers, including his own best friend, close at hand. He supposed it must be a feature of the world he was now in or the Paladin persona he had assumed.

Harry decided to look around the room they were in. The light was coming from fairly large windows set high in the wall, indicating that they were now on the side of the fortress facing out of the mountain. There was a raised dais at one end, and a large chandelier was suspended from the ceiling, though it appeared to have no candles in it at present. Any other furnishings that might have been in the room had been removed, so it was difficult to determine its purpose. It could have been an unused ballroom, with the dais providing a place for the musicians.

Eventually, Harry slept for a four-hour shift. When he woke, he noted that the light had faded. Knowing that he would still need to take another sleep shift later, Harry decided to leave his armor off for the time being. He stood up and stretched. It was kind of refreshing, actually, to be free from all that metal plating for a while.

Ron had apparently woken just recently, as well. George dismissed and re-cast the Hut and seemed to be readying himself for sleep. Hermione looked around anxiously, watching and listening for something.

"What is it?" Ron asked in concern. Hermione shook her head as though clearing it.

"Nothing, I guess. I just keep getting the feeling something is watching me."

"You haven't rested yet. Why don't you try to sleep?"

She nodded agreement. Her armor was already off, so she settled herself quickly. When Ron was certain she was asleep, he came over to speak to Ginny. His voice was low, so Harry couldn't hear what he said, but it seemed to upset Ginny.

"No! I can't!" she said angrily. Ron laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her and continued to speak softly. Eventually, she responded in the same low tones and nodded reluctantly. Ron returned to his former spot to watch over Hermione, and Ginny took a deep breath. Then, she knelt before her Dire Weasel companion and stroked its head affectionately. Finally, she muttered a few words and gestured. The Dire Weasel immediately turned and exited the dome, then the room. After watching the animal leave, Ginny turned towards the dome's wall and sat on the floor, hugging her knees.

Hardly knowing what he was doing, Harry buckled on his sword belt, just in case, and went to her.

"Ginny? What's the matter?"

At the sound of his voice, Ginny wiped her eyes, and Harry could see that she had been crying. He sat down next to her, uncomfortable with the crying but desperately hoping there was something he could do about it.

"It's stupid, really," she said, smiling weakly at him. "I mean, she's only an animal, but I was really attached to her."

Harry didn't know what to say, so he tentatively put an arm around her shoulders and waited for her to continue. He was beginning to understand that she had permanently dismissed her animal companion.

"Besides, Ron is right," Ginny went on. "Things are likely to get more dangerous as we go on, and we may be past the point where she could help us. Anyway, eventually, I'll go back home, and what would become of her then? I'd forget about her, but she'd miss me. It's really better this way."

In spite of her brave words, she turned her face to Harry's shoulder and cried a little more before taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. He squeezed her a little with his left hand but made no attempt at further contact. Privately, Harry was a bit relieved to see this display of emotion from Ginny. Although this was undeniably awkward, he'd been rather worried about her apparent distance from the other people in the group. As she pulled away from him, he removed his arm from her. He felt the need to break the silence.

"I have to admit, I'm not all that anxious to go home," Harry commented, echoing what he had said to George several days earlier. "Life seems so much simpler here."

"I know what you mean," Ginny answered, clearly recovering herself. "I feel more powerful, wiser – ready to meet any challenge that comes my way. And-"

"No nightmares," they both said at the same time. Their eyes met in a serious moment of understanding.

"It's not just those things, though," Harry admitted, deciding to go a little further. "I feel like I'm finally getting to know you. I'm sorry I never really noticed you before."

Ginny gave him a generous smile that made Harry's stomach turn over.

"It's not really your fault," she said. "I was always so shy around you. I didn't give you much opportunity."

"Is it going to be like that again when we get back?" He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice but was aware that he hadn't quite succeeded.

"If it's any consolation, I'd already decided to try being more myself around you this year."

"Really?" Harry felt an insane hope rising in him. "You mean, we might still get to this point?" To tell the truth, he wasn't sure what point that was, exactly, but he distinctly felt that progress had been made.

"It will probably take a lot longer, but yes, I think we'll get there."

"Yes!" said another voice nearby. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to see Siofra doing a graceful yet bizarre little dance of joy. She seemed to be making a soundless exclamation as well.

"I knew it; I just knew it!" she continued happily. "Take that, all you anti-Orange Crushers!"

"Orange Crush?" Harry asked, confused. "Wasn't that a soft drink?"

"Well, yes, but it's also a code phrase used in my world to describe the two of you together, you know, romantically."

"Hang on," said Harry, feeling his face grow red. "We never said anything about—"

"Oh, come on. It's obvious you – ha!" she broke off, pointing to the ceiling fiercely. "You almost got me to say it, but I didn't!"

Harry remembered that the Voice had warned Siofra not to say a certain sentence. Apparently, she had nearly said it. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Harry turned back to Ginny.

"You should really get some sleep."

"I'll try," Ginny sighed.

Harry retreated to his former location, and Siofra, losing interest, went over to another portion of the dome. Only later did it occur to him to wonder how it was people in Siofra's world knew about Harry and the others well enough to speculate on their love lives.

* * *

Author's Note: Just to give a little explanation, the Fiction Alley fandom assigned nicknames to the various ships in the Harry Potter universe. Ron/Hermione was simply the Good Ship, Harry/Ginny was Orange Crush (I think that's obvious), Harry/Hermione was Pumpkin Pie (no idea why, particularly considering that pumpkin pie is an American dish), and Ginny/Draco was Fire & Ice. I can't remember the others.

Sharnorasian Empire: I'm aware of that, but anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.


	9. Chapter 9: Assaults on Souls and Minds

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

**Chapter 9 – Assaults on Souls and Minds**

All at once, Ron gave an exclamation, drawing Harry's attention toward him. Ron had been sitting near Hermione as she slept, and he was now springing to his feet with his sword ready. An ethereal figure hovered over Hermione and appeared to be trying to draw something out of her mouth. Although Harry couldn't see the thing clearly, he thought it sort of looked like Hermione, only colorless and transparent. Whatever it was trying to do, it reminded Harry sickeningly of the Dementor's Kiss. Harry quickly took in the room to assess the complete situation. Fred and George were asleep, and Draco seemed merely content to watch the action, but the others were preparing for battle.

Ron struck the creature with his longsword and Siofra drew and used her Wand of Magic Missile. The commotion woke Fred. Ginny drew her scimitar and moved in from the right side. Hermione appeared to wake up, but she looked at her attacker and froze in place. Harry approached to a point five feet away on the left, drawing his sword.

The thing turned away from Hermione to gaze at the members of the group, and Harry saw it had blazing red eyes. Ron and Ginny suddenly stood stock-still, but Harry felt nothing. The monster attacked Harry with a knifelike gust of wind, enough to cut him.

"George, wake up!" Siofra shouted before using her wand again. Fred was coming up on Harry's right with his rapier. Harry stepped forward and swung his sword twice. The first stroke found its mark, but on his second, it slipped out of his grasp, skittering onto the floor and nearly hitting Hermione. He swore aloud as he bent down to try and retrieve it.

Now the creature turned back to Hermione and sucked from her lungs once more. Siofra and George both used Magic Missile attacks, signifying that George had awakened. Fred gently shouldered the paralyzed Ginny aside and tried to strike with his rapier, but he failed to connect. Harry muttered under his breath as he picked up his sword. As he straightened, the floating thing seemed to have recovered from some of the damage he and the others had done. Harry suddenly realized that it was somehow drawing energy from Hermione. His heart jumped into his throat as he understood that she would die if they didn't destroy it soon.

Ignoring everyone else, the enemy simply continued to focus its attention on draining Hermione of her life. Siofra used her wand again. George sounded frustrated as he cast Magic Missile again as well, apparently not knowing what else to do. Fred tried his rapier again but did no apparent damage. Harry took a deep breath and gave two broad strokes with his large sword. Both swings struck true, and the creature's link with Hermione was broken. It simply floated there in midair.

At this point, Ron and Ginny regained their ability to move, and Ron immediately struck the airy thing, causing it to disappear completely. He dropped his sword and knelt down beside Hermione, who began stirring a few seconds later. At this sign of life, Ron hugged her close. Meanwhile, the others looked around, confused.

"Where did it go?" Ginny asked.

"Better yet, what was it?" Fred put in.

"How did it make some of you freeze up like that?" Harry added.

"In order: it vanished as soon as it was killed because it carried no treasure; it was a Breathdrinker; and its gaze paralyzes people with fear," came a voice Harry hadn't heard in a while. He turned to see the DM standing in their midst. Siofra did a double-take.

"Um, not to be rude, but you don't look pregnant anymore," she commented curiously.

"Very astute," responded the DM dryly. "I had the baby and got very busy, so it's been a while in my world."

"Ooh, can we see it? Please?"

The DM looked uncertain, then shrugged.

"I suppose you might as well see them both, while we're at it." She disappeared briefly and returned with a baby on her left hip and a small boy holding her other hand. The boy had dark blond hair and strikingly blue eyes, a contrast to the dark mother. Even Harry, who was not really comfortable with small children, had to admit that he was extremely cute.

"Aww," said Ginny and Siofra at the same time.

"I hope you understand I'm not going to give their names," the DM said. Then she leaned down to the boy and asked, "Can you tell these people how old you are?"

The boy retreated slightly behind her and replied, in a loud voice, "No. I'm shy!"

This elicited laughter from the group. The baby had wispy, light brown hair with dark brown eyes and looked pretty sturdy.

"This one's a boy, too. They're three years apart."

"Can I hold him?" asked Ginny, putting her scimitar away.

"Unfortunately, no. We're not really here." The DM demonstrated by pulling her hand away from the older boy and stretching it out to Ginny, showing that it passed right through her.

During this exchange, the older boy had said "Mama" several times. Finally, the DM gave him her attention.

"What, sweetie?" she said in the air of someone who heard this refrain far too often.

"Why are they dressed funny?" he asked, looking cautiously at Harry and his friends.

"Everyone in this world dresses like that, more or less."

Harry knelt down before the older boy, looking into his eyes. He'd never really thought about it before, but he now wondered if he would survive long enough to get married and start a family. Somehow, the idea of raising a son like one of these sounded appealing. The child gazed back at him curiously.

"Well, I think that's enough. Let's go back to your daddy." The DM escorted the children to a point where they disappeared, lowering herself down to the floor to let go of the baby.

Without warning, an elephant appeared at one end of the room and charged through the midst of the group, scattering everyone to either side as they reflexively dodged. It then disappeared after reaching the other end of the chamber.

"What was that about?" exclaimed George.

"That was supposed to be a random element," said the disembodied Voice they'd heard once before. "Unfortunately, my husband misspoke, so it became a random _elephant_. Just ignore it."

The DM appeared unaware or unconcerned that a charging pachyderm had just invaded her world.

"Ginny," she said, "I wanted to let you know that the dire weasel made it safely to the forest, where she will live out the rest of her life."

Ginny nodded acknowledgement of this.

"Draco, my congratulations on surviving this long," the DM continued. "Of course, I forgot that it takes a lot to hurt a monk. I'm still somewhat surprised that you haven't been throwing yourself wildly into battle in the hopes that something would kill you and send you home."

Draco took on a slightly thoughtful look at this, his eyes narrowing. Siofra jumped in, preventing any other response.

"Wait. You mean that death sends us back where we came from?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Theoretically?" asked Harry, alarmed. He'd been taking it for granted that, if anything bad did happen to them here, they'd at least end up in their own world, unharmed. The DM gave him a placating gesture.

"Oh, for you and your group, definitely. For you, Siofra, I'm not so sure. After all, I brought all the others here, so I control the circumstances under which they remain or leave. I didn't create the rift that brought you here, however, so I can't be certain whether your death would be real or would send you back to Texas."

"Well, isn't _that_ a pleasant thought," muttered Siofra. "I guess I'll just play it safe from now on, then."

"On the positive side, if you succeed in your mission and defeat the evil wizard, this world will essentially reset itself, automatically evicting all of you back to your home dimensions, including Siofra. I feel I should warn you that it will not be easy to do this. The wizard is far more powerful than anything else you will face." The DM paused, looking over to where Ron and Hermione sat alone. "Hermione will need rest. The Breathdrinker drained her severely."

With that, she was gone. Harry went over to evaluate Hermione's condition. As the DM had indicated, she was weakened. In addition, nobody in the group had the advantage of the full 24 hours of rest they had intended, so they needed another day to gain natural healing. George had also used several spells and needed the time to "recharge." Once Hermione had some rest, she was able to cast a spell to restore herself completely. While she was vulnerable, Ron insisted that at least two of the others guard her at all times. Finally, they were all rested enough to continue.

Ron and Fred took the lead through the doors at the room's far end. This led them to a staircase, so they continued their upward journey. At the top of the stairs was a set of double doors. They all prepared to enter in pairs. Once everyone seemed to be set, Fred checked the door and opened it.

Ron and Fred walked first into a dark room, Ginny and Harry right behind them. As Fred moved forward bearing the Continual Flame in one hand and his rapier in the other, Harry could see that it seemed to be some kind of large storeroom. Crates and boxes were piled around haphazardly, along with some old furniture. There was also a very fine mist in front of the doorway. Harry thought it suspicious but could see no other alternative than to move forward. As he did, he felt the mist penetrate his brain somehow, though he couldn't sense what it was doing. Meanwhile, Ron followed Fred's lead and moved up beside him.

"Resistance," Siofra murmured, moving up behind Ginny. Harry cast Bless and moved forward also, although he couldn't catch up with Fred. Hermione passed Harry to reach a point between him and Fred.

"I'm getting a really strong feeling we shouldn't go any further," Ron said, looking around nervously.

"I feel the same way," agreed Fred.

Hermione looked between the two of them, confused.

"Nonsense," she asserted. "It's some kind of trick. There's something in this room that's threatened by us. Let's go."

"I can't," said Siofra plaintively, and the two boys seemed to be in the same situation.

"Barkskin," said Ginny softly, ignoring the discussion and moving past Harry. Harry moved up beside Fred, wondering what to do next. Hermione passed him again and cast a Light spell on her raised mace.

"Mage Armor," George said from behind, followed by footsteps. Ginny moved cautiously up to the forward edge of Hermione's light source.

Harry felt an alien presence invade his mind and try to direct him to attack Fred. He fought it off but could take no further action.

"Get away from me," he managed to grit out between his teeth, giving Fred a significant look. Fred shot him a perplexed glance, but began to back away. Hermione stepped further toward the opposite end of the room and cast Searing Light, drawing Harry's attention that way. The circle of light she had created had reached an area behind some 3-foot square boxes. Behind them, Harry could make out a strange, wormlike creature. He couldn't tell whether the spell had any effect. Ginny reacted quickly, running up to one of the boxes, leaning over it, and striking with her scimitar.

Draco moved up near Harry while Fred was retreating from him. Ron sheathed his swords, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow. Siofra used her Wand of Magic Missile again. Harry, at the direction of the voice in his head, turned and attacked Draco twice, hitting him for one good blow. Facing this way, he could no longer see the battle engaged between Ginny, Hermione, and whatever it was at the other end of the room. George cast his Magic Missile, and Draco tried to hit Harry but only managed to strike his armor. Harry wondered distantly why it didn't hurt him to hit plate steel with his bare hands and feet like that.

Fred stayed back, watching the fight between Draco and Harry as though he weren't quite sure what to do. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron loose two arrows and Siofra use her Wand of Magic Missile. Ron lowered his bow after firing, however, leading Harry to believe his arrows had done no damage. Still under some kind of control, Harry struck Draco again.

"Poison," Hermione said from the other side of the room. George used his Magic Missile spell.

"Flame Blade," Ginny cast her own spell. Harry wished desperately that he could see what was happening over there or, better yet, that he could help the two girls in their fight. Draco landed a solid kick that went right through Harry's armor and nearly knocked the wind out of him. This caused Fred to decide to enter the fray, and he stuck Draco with his rapier.

Meanwhile, Ron turned around and fired an arrow at George, which was fortunately deflected by his magical protections. Siofra used her wand again, and Harry tried for Draco again but missed so badly that he accidentally slashed Fred.

"Ray of Frost," George called out, after giving his younger brother a questioning look. Harry suddenly felt that he was no longer under control and stood blinking for a moment. Draco took advantage of Harry's distraction to flail away at him harmlessly.

Fred dropped his rapier and pulled Draco away from Harry.

Ron quickly put his bow away and went over to George.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Something took me over; I couldn't help it."

"Yeah," added Harry. "The same thing happened to me."

"Well, no harm done," said George easily as he went to help his twin restrain Draco. "You did kind of scare me for a second, though. I've seen how effective you are with that bow."

"Right," said Draco, looking at Harry venomously. "You expect me to believe that you were completely unwilling to fight me?"

"Honestly, Draco, if he wanted to attack you, he could do it any time," Siofra pointed out, putting her wand away. "I doubt you'd find too many in this group who would try to prevent him." She headed over to where the other girls were.

Ignoring the struggling Draco, Harry calmly cleaned his sword and sheathed it. Draco gave up his fight. When they were sure he wasn't going to fly off again, the twins let him go, and Fred picked his rapier off the ground. Malfoy dusted himself off and resumed his usual arrogant attitude.

Harry turned around and saw Hermione apparently tending to Ginny. This got Harry's attention, and he went over to them as quickly as he could.

"I'll be fine, Hermione," Ginny insisted to the healer. "Don't waste any spells on me right now. If I need healing later, I can do it myself."

When he got closer, Harry saw that Ginny had some uneven wounds on her neck and shoulders. Hermione was hurt too, but not as badly. Hermione surveyed the redhead critically.

"Alright," the cleric said reluctantly. "But I want you to stay toward the back of the group, and heal yourself immediately if it looks like you're in danger."

"I will," Ginny promised. Then she turned toward the dead worm-thing in front of her. "Look at all this stuff it's got."

"Whoa! Jackpot!" Siofra agreed, helping the redhead sort out the treasure. Harry was still looking at Ginny doubtfully, wondering if she really would be all right. He decided he would only offend her by saying anything, though, so he let it go for now. He looked over their shoulders to see what they were looking at, sensing some of the others approaching behind him. The creature did, in fact, look like a large earthworm, with a round maw at the front of its head. It had arms and legs like smaller worms.

"Why don't you bring it out here, where we can see it better?" Ron asked the girls. Ginny shrugged and allowed Siofra to help her bring the items into a clearer part of the room for closer observation. There were two rings, a potion, a wand, and a money pouch. Those more familiar with magic items identified them as a Ring of Protection, a Ring of Mind Shielding, a Potion of Intelligence, and a Wand of Cure Light Wounds.

"I think George or Ginny should take the Ring of Protection, since they're the most vulnerable right now," Harry said.

"Ginny can have it," George shrugged. "I have defensive spells to help me out." Ginny took it without comment, but Harry suspected it was at least partly to placate Hermione and him.

"In that case, why don't you take the Ring of Mind Shielding?" Hermione suggested to George. "It might be a good idea for our primary spellcaster to be able to shield his thoughts."

George agreed. Fred took the Potion of Intelligence, since many of his skills relied on Intelligence. Ron ended up with the wand. Again, they left the money, and once everything else was divided up, the body disappeared.

Only a few members of the group were injured, and all followed Ginny's example in refusing healing for the time being. Therefore, after a cursory look into the crates and boxes, finding nothing of interest, they continued on their journey.

* * *

Author's Note: I think this is the first chapter where I did not explain one of the creatures. The worm-like thing was an Elder Psurlon, which has numerous mind-controlling powers and spell resistance.

Review responses:

Sharnorasian Empire: Oh, are you across the pond? You are, of course, correct. Harry had one this chapter.

Cedric Inuzuka: I thought you would like that. If you're interested, I have written a few other Harry/Ginny fics. I don't remember their titles offhand, but you should be able to find them by looking on my profile.


	10. Chapter 10: Death, Armored and Walking

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons.

**Chapter 10 – Death, Armored and Walking**

The next room was a kitchen, quite clean and apparently used regularly. Fortunately, there was no one in it at the moment. Not knowing what the meal schedule might be, the group decided not to linger but to gather what food they could. Ron was somehow able to devour large amounts of food without pausing and while keeping his bow at the ready. In spite of everything that had recently happened, his friend's incredible eating skill still amazed Harry.

Suddenly, Harry began getting mental images of his own death. They were disturbing, but really no worse than situations he had already faced. Certain that these thoughts did not come from his own mind, he looked around alertly. He saw nothing he could place as the source of the images. Looking at the faces of his companions, however, he could see that they were receiving similar pictures. Only George returned Harry's look with one of confusion and questioning, but Harry remembered that George was wearing a ring that protected his thoughts.

Deciding not to speak, Harry led the way to the next door. Fred checked it, then opened it, walking in beside Harry. Ron and Hermione followed them.

On the other side of the kitchen, as might be expected, there was a large formal dining room. This did not seem to be in regular use. Although the long table stood there in the middle, surrounded by a few chairs, everything was covered with a layer of dust. The dust on the floor held some muddled tracks. Some of these appeared to be from fairly innocuous creatures such as mice and spiders. Harry also recognized prints that might have been left by monsters they had already fought. Harry took firmer grips on both his sword and shield.

The chandeliers hanging from above were unlit, but there was enough light coming in from the large, high-set windows too see the room clearly. Fred quickly pocketed the Continual Flame as they proceeded around the left side of the table. When they were about halfway down the length of the room, the door at the opposite end abruptly opened to admit a large creature reminiscent of a rhinoceros. It was grayish-brown in color, covered in a naturally armored hide and bearing a long horn on its snout. Its stout body stood upright on powerful legs, and it wielded a huge club in one giant hand.

The monster stepped a short distance into the room, and Harry sensed it sending some kind of mental assault at them. Harry was not affected, but he saw Fred suddenly stand still beside him. Chancing a glance over, Fred had a sort of glazed look to his eyes and no longer seemed aware of what was happening. Harry realized that the visions he had received must have come from this thing. Unwilling to risk turning any further away from their attacker, Harry returned his attention to the front.

"Holy Smite!" called Hermione, so she apparently was all right. It clearly affected the monster, but not much. Draco activated his Circlet of Blasting to somewhat better effect. The creature used its mental attack again, but Harry still resisted. Not looking around to see what its other effects might have been, Harry charged in with his sword, managing a small wound. Harry heard Ginny casting a spell, and George sent three Magic Missiles into it.

The monster struck Harry twice with its heavy club, nearly staggering him. It also tried to gore him with its horn, fortunately striking harmlessly on his armor.

_One more blow like that, and I'm dead,_ Harry thought desperately. Raising his shield, he made a strategic retreat to the right and healed himself a little. A glowing, wormlike thing appeared behind the creature and slammed it while Ginny and George cast some defensive spells. Harry glanced over and saw that Hermione was now in a similar situation to Fred's, as were Ron and Siofra. That left only four of them to fight this thing, and Harry wasn't going to do much good without some more healing.

Draco came up unexpectedly on the creature's left-hand side and touched the rhino-thing with his hand, discharging an electric shock. The creature turned and struck the worm first, knocking it senseless. It then swung around to Draco and hit him solidly. Harry cast Bless on everyone. Ginny came and healed some of his wounds. He was going to protest, but he saw that she had already taken care of most of her own injuries. George cast Stoneskin on himself and moved forward.

Draco did his unarmed attack again, only to be knocked down by two blows of the massive club. Harry moved back in and managed to draw blood. Ginny attacked beside him with her scimitar but couldn't penetrate the hide. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw George ready his spear and circle around to the other side. He hardly ever got involved in melee like this, but Harry didn't have time to wonder if George knew what he was doing.

The monster sent a Cone of Cold down the middle of the room. George and Harry were far enough to either side to not be inside its range, but everyone else was hit. Harry swung his sword and connected twice. Ginny also tried twice but again failed to hurt it. George managed to get a small puncture with his spear.

Two arrows landed in the creature, indicating that Ron had broken free from his trance. One was pushed out by spontaneous healing, while the other seemed to cause minimal damage. The enemy swung its club twice, hitting George and missing Ginny. It gored Harry with its long horn, causing him to retreat out of range again. Siofra joined the fray by utilizing her Wand of Magic Missile, and Ginny was finally successful with her scimitar. Her first strike gashed its arm, and her second caused a deep wound in the creature's side, causing it to fall unconscious. George followed up with his spear to kill it. Then he withdrew his weapon and cleaned it.

"This close combat thing is exhilarating!" he exclaimed. "I should try it more often."

"It's also very dangerous," Harry pointed out, knowing that he'd been bludgeoned nearly to a pulp and probably looked an absolute mess. He cleaned his sword and sheathed it.

Fred had apparently levitated himself into the air while Harry had been occupied with the fight and was in the process of returning to the floor. Hermione stirred and went over to Draco, who had not moved since falling in battle.

"He's dead," she announced sadly.

"So there's no way to bring him back?" Siofra asked.

"Why would you want to?" Ron put in, and his brothers nodded agreement.

"He did help in this fight," Hermione replied with a sigh. "Anyway, resurrection is beyond my power. But Ginny, don't you have a spell?"

"Don't ask," Ginny answered shortly. "It would be a waste of a powerful spell because it wouldn't work. Reincarnation is only effective if the spirit wants to come back. Remember that death sent him home. Why would he want to rejoin us? Besides, this was suicide."

"How do you know?" inquired Fred, reaching the rest of the group. Ginny pointed to Draco's body.

"He could have healed himself of at least some of the damage done by you and Harry earlier before charging into combat. He didn't. I think he took the DM's suggestion to heart. He _wanted_ to die."

Harry saw that she was right. The wounds he'd slashed into Draco's torso were still there, as well as the puncture from Fred's rapier. He wasn't really sure how he felt about this. It was true that Draco hadn't been much help in their fights, and there was certainly no love lost between them, but it was still a little unnerving to see him lying there dead like that. On the other hand, Draco was now back in his fancy mansion, remembering little or nothing of what had happened here. Harry wondered vaguely if seeing him die – or some of the things they'd fought, for that matter – would allow all the others to see Thestrals. How real was this world, anyway? Would having seen someone die affect them even if they couldn't remember it?

"Well, we might as well divide up his possessions," Fred said, systematically removing Draco's gear and laying it out. Harry took back the potion he had previously given Malfoy. Ron took the Circlet of Blasting, Fred claimed the Bracers of Armor, and Siofra wanted the Ring of Jumping. This left the Periapt of Proof against Poison and the Ring of Protection.

"I think either Ginny or George should have the ring," Harry said. "They're the most vulnerable right now."

"Ginny can have it," George offered. "I'll take the Periapt."

"Okay," said Ginny. "I can't wear the Periapt anyway, since I already have one."

They left the Heartstone with Malfoy's body. No one knew how to use his few weapons, so those were left with him also.

His body disappeared, as did the armored beast they had killed. In its place lay a wand, quickly identified as a low-level Magic Missile wand.

"Why don't you take it, Hermione," Ron suggested. "You didn't get anything from Draco."

"I already have a stronger one," she said. "But I'll hold it if no one else wants it."

"Well, the good news is, you all go up a level. That was a pretty tough fight, though, wasn't it?" The DM stood again in their midst, surveying the results of the battle. She looked Harry over carefully. "If I were you, I'd get some healing. You may have internal bleeding."

"Thanks; I never would have thought of that," Harry answered dryly.

"No need to get snippy," reproved the DM. "Anyway, like I said, you all go up to ninth level, after you've rested. That means Hermione and Ginny get access to 5th level spells, and George can choose one new spell each of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels."

"What was that thing?" Ron asked her.

"Oh, it's called a Braxat. They're trained from an early age to kill. Pretty effective, too, but there were simply too many of you. I thought of giving you two, but I think this was enough of a challenge for you."

"Challenge?" Harry shouted. "That thing nearly killed me, and did kill Malfoy! How can you be so…so…?"

"I told you from the beginning that this would be, at times, deadly serious," the DM answered calmly. "And remember that this death is not real. Believe me, if you were really dying, it would bother me. You may not understand this, but I actually care about all of you."

She was gone before anyone could respond to that. George set up his protective shield again, and everyone took up positions near the dining table so it could provide extra cover if needed. He decided his new spells would be Melf's Acid Arrow, Lightning Bolt, and Improved Invisibility. Hermione and Ginny used the spells they had remaining to heal those who were injured from either battle. Then they all rested.

While they rested, Harry considered the DM's parting words. Could there be a reason she had brought them here, besides her own entertainment? It did seem like a lot of work to go to just for that. She clearly knew of his background and possibly some of his future. Part of him knew that he would need to face Voldemort again someday, perhaps alone. Maybe he would learn things here that would remain somewhere in his subconscious. He was certainly a very competent fighter in this world and felt much more sure of himself than he did at home. If he could transfer some of that to his "real" life, it might help him.

Miraculously, nothing disturbed them during their rest period. Some of the group wondered if they should find this strange.

"Maybe the wizard's running out of things to throw at us," Fred speculated.

"Yeah, we have cleaned the castle out pretty good," added George.

"If I know Liselle, she's just saving it all up for us," Siofra disagreed. "The last battle is going to be a doozy."

"We don't even know if we're up to the last battle yet," Ginny put in.

"No, but we have to be close," Hermione said. "We're near the top of the castle. There can't be much further to go."

When they set off again, fully rested and healed, they found that the next part of the castle was the living quarters. There were a number of bedrooms and bathrooms, all empty but for old, sturdy furniture and fixtures. Harry wondered why the wizard apparently had no servants living there. Maybe they just came in from the village to prepare meals and such. Harry certainly wouldn't want to live in a castle filled with monsters and run by a megalomaniac evil wizard, and maybe the wizard didn't like people underfoot either.

"If we'd known this was just on the other side of the door, we could have had nice bedrooms to rest in," Ron commented.

"Yeah, and been split up if anything happened," Harry pointed out. "It would have been very easy for the wizard to pick us off one or two at a time."

At last, the group entered what was apparently an antechamber to the throne room. Harry and Fred entered first, splitting off to either side to leave room for the others. A skeletal being stood in a far corner, hissing something. It had rotting flesh barely attached to its bones, and Harry recognized it as a Mohrg, though it had strange tattoos carved on its body. Siofra used her Wand of Magic Missile.

"Disrupt Undead!" George shouted, finally able to try that spell. Unfortunately, it didn't have any effect. Harry saw Ginny step forward and fire her sling, but it went wide. Fred shot two arrows, missing both times.

"Holy Smite," Hermione called out, casting her spell but having no noticeable impact. The creature hissed again, pointing at Ron. It seemed to be trying to cast a spell, but he didn't seem any the worse, so Harry guessed it hadn't worked. Harry put his sword and shield away, deciding to go with a ranged attack. Ron activated his newly acquired Circlet of Blasting, but the bright light didn't seem to hurt the undead.

Siofra moved close to Ron and began singing to assist him. George cast a Fireball, but when the flames had gone, the monster again appeared untouched. Ginny cast her Flame Strike, which did seem to burn it, and Fred followed up with a successful Fireball from his necklace.

"Searing Light," Hermione said, and a bright flash of light hit the corpselike thing, causing it to shriek horribly. It returned several beams out of its own hand, hitting Ginny, Fred, and Hermione. Ginny showed evidence of pain, but the other two remained unharmed. Harry drew his crossbow and fired but didn't manage to hit. Ron rushed in with his sword and sliced open the thin flesh, Siofra following him at a distance and continuing her song.

Four magic missiles slammed into the creature, courtesy of George. Ginny put her sling away and drew her scimitar. Fred tried one more shot with the bow but missed.

"Don't let its tongue touch you!" Hermione warned Ron. Then she took out a Wand of Magic Missile and activated it, but it didn't seem to do anything. Despite this warning, the skeleton slammed Ron bodily and whipped its long, purple tongue at him. As soon as it touched Ron, he froze in place, and Harry understood that he was paralyzed. Harry quickly stepped forward and cast Remove Paralysis on him. Instantly, Ron attacked twice, causing a large wound through the stomach on his first attempt.

Siofra simply continued to sing; George tried his Disrupt Undead spell, again failing. Ginny rushed in and struck with her scimitar but glanced off some kind of magical protections. Hermione used her Wand of Magic Missile again and succeeded in completely destroying the Mohrg.

"A Spellstiched Mohrg," Hermione said with distaste. "Those runes carved into it were what allowed it to cast spells, making it more dangerous than a typical Mohrg."

"Still, that wasn't a very difficult fight," George commented.

"Maybe due to our new abilities," Fred said.

"Don't get cocky," Ginny told them. "I have a feeling the wizard is extremely powerful, and we're just about to face him."

Harry followed her gaze to the large double-doors leading to the throne room. If Ginny was right, they had only one fight left before returning home, one way or another.

* * *

Author's Note: We are nearly done. Sorry this chapter was a bit shorter than most.

Review Response:

Sharnorasian Empire: Oh, sorry. I'm used to people in Europe saying "over here." I guess I thought Canadians would say "up here," or something. Although technically. a portion of Canada is south of most of Michigan. Had you heard of the Braxat? Some of these are from Monster Manual II, so you might not have seen them.


	11. Chapter 11: The Final Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Dungeons & Dragons, and I am making no money from using their characters, classes, and monsters. This is just for fun.

Author's Note: I believe that the wizard's name is from my husband, although I might have come up with it myself. I wanted a name that was not at all intimidating – you know, like "Tim." (Yes, that's my obligatory Monty Python reference.)

**Chapter 11 – The Final Battle**

The group members used their magic wands to heal the few wounds sustained, wanting to save their spells. Then, they sat down to discuss how to proceed. Ron, as the acknowledged master of strategy, took the lead.

"All right, when we go in there, don't clump together," he said, drawing diagrams on the dusty floor. "That makes it too easy for him to get us all with one spell. Each spellcaster will be paired up with a fighter. Everyone, stay back a ways when we get in there. Give the magic-users a chance to do their thing. Fighters, protect your spellcasters at all costs. I'll be with Hermione, and we'll head to the right. Harry, you cover Ginny and go up the middle. Fred, George, and Siofra will be together on the left. Once the spells have weakened him, or if it looks like they're not working, we'll start to move in, but not all at once."

"You know he's probably using some kind of mind-reading spell right now," Hermione pointed out.

"It won't work on me," George commented, indicating his ring.

"It can't be helped," Ron answered Hermione. "We have to have a plan so we don't stumble over each other. Anyway, Harry and I will close into melee first. If we fall, Hermione and Ginny step in. If they don't make it, it will be George and Siofra's turn. Fred, you're the exception to this. If you see an opportunity at any time to use your sneak attack, by all means, do it!"

Ginny and Hermione had gasped a little at the suggestion of Harry and Ron falling in battle. For his part, Harry was impressed with Ron for sounding so calm about it. He was sure his friend was just trying to see them all as chess pieces, distancing himself from the dangers that lay ahead. This was not so different, really, from the giant chess match he'd orchestrated in first year, and unlike that, none of them would be harmed in the real world.

"Suppose the wizard does something to spoil our plan?" Ginny asked her brother. Ron gave her his trademark lopsided smile.

"Then we do what we always do. Improvise."

Siofra stretched her right hand out to the middle of their loose circle.

"Whatever happens, I want you all to know I've enjoyed meeting you and fighting by your side," she said. Picking up the signal, Harry and Hermione laid their hands over hers. The Weasleys seemed confused but followed suit.

"Go team," Harry said, half-jokingly. Everybody pulled their hands back and began making preparations. Harry took off his sword and shield and took the Potion of Enlarge. To his dismay, although he grew to about seven feet, it did not make him big enough to wield the huge greatsword stored in the Portable Hole. He left it lying on the floor but did place his shield in the Portable Hole, deciding to use his regular sword two-handed for the extra strength. Since the first attacks would be ranged, however, he drew his crossbow.

Hermione took a Potion of Wisdom and invoked her karma prayer bead. George cast Mage Armor and Stoneskin on himself. The others prepared ranged weapons. Fred found no traps on the double doors. Apparently, the wizard was confident either in his own abilities or that no one would make it this far. As soon as Fred had opened the door, a fog appeared in front of it. Siofra moved into it briefly, then came back.

"You can hardly see or move in there," she told them. "And it stings."

"Acid fog," George clarified. He took his Potion of Endurance while Fred took a Potion of Intelligence.

Harry cast Endure Elements (acid) on Ginny to protect her from the fog. Ginny tried to magically dispel the fog but failed.

"It's no good. We'll have to run for it," she said. Theoretically, they could have simply waited until the spell ended, but no one seemed inclined to suggest that. Everyone was ready and anxious for battle.

"If it's a square, the shortest distance out should be to the sides," Ron advised. He and Hermione then headed to the right, disappearing after five feet. Siofra took off to the left.

"So much for the plan," Fred commented, following Siofra.

"Like the man said, we improvise," George replied, and he went after his twin. Harry and Ginny ran to the right. He caught up to Hermione but lost sight of Ginny. The acid fog did sting, but it wasn't too bad. He just wondered how long it would take them to get out of it. He thought he heard an unfamiliar voice casting a spell, and it made him nervous to not be able to see what was going on.

"Ray of Enfeeblement!" the unfamiliar voice called as Harry and Hermione ran a little further. Harry thought he heard the twang of a bowstring. Hermione cleared the edge of the fog shortly before Harry. As she did so, the same voice declared, "Cower before the might of Evil Wizard Periwinkle!"

_Periwinkle? _Harry thought disbelievingly, and he swore he heard Ron snort.

"I'm thinking of changing it!" the wizard shouted. He followed this up by casting a Fireball. There were some additional sounds of ranged weapons being fired, and George cast his own Fireball.

At last, Harry was out of the acid fog, and he stood beside Hermione, trying to assess the situation. Ron and Ginny stood in front of him, Ron nocking another arrow on his bow. All three of the others had burns on their bodies, indicating the target of the wizard's Fireball. A strange, flamelike creature lay about 20 feet in front of Ron.

"Ice Storm," Ginny called out, creating a cylinder of hail across the room, where the evil wizard was standing. He cried out in pain, but this appeared to be the first damage Periwinkle had sustained. Ron fired two arrows at the wizard, but both rebounded off invisible magical protections.

"Flame Strike!" shouted Hermione, using one of her new spells as well. Again, this seemed to do significant damage as the wizard was briefly enveloped in flames, and Periwinkle turned to her in rage. He attempted to hit her with Melf's Acid Arrow, but the combination of Ron providing her with cover and her own dexterity prevented it from reaching her.

Two crossbow bolts and an arrow shot from the far side of the fog; one crossbow bolt hit Periwinkle, but he didn't seem to feel it. Harry realized that he, like George, had probably cast Stoneskin on himself. George sent a Lightning Bolt toward the wizard, but Harry noticed that it oddly seemed to stop just before it reached the wizard and continued a distance behind him.

Deciding to follow the original plan, Harry moved past Ginny and began to walk toward the center of the room, firing his crossbow once. Ginny followed him, staying behind him at his gesture. Ginny also cast Protection from Elements (fire) on Harry. When he looked at her questioningly, she shrugged.

"Call it a hunch," she said simply.

"Get ready to close in," Ron instructed loudly, shouldering his bow and drawing his longsword. Harry agreed that it was probably time to begin the second phase of their plan. Hermione tried one more spell, Holy Smite, which had no noticeable effect.

"Our weaker spells don't work!" she exclaimed.

"He's got a Globe of Invulnerability," George called in agreement from the other side.

Periwinkle proved the accuracy of Ginny's hunch by casting a Fireball to encompass her, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Harry avoided the worst of it, and Ginny's spell took the rest. Ginny and Hermione, however, did not fare so well, getting badly burned. Ron didn't look too bad, though the combination of his prior injuries with the new burns was beginning to take its toll. Harry saw Fred out of the corner of his eye, shouldering his bow and drawing his rapier. He still couldn't see George or Siofra, but he heard Siofra cast Displacement and George casting Improved Invisibility. This caused Fred to disappear, which Harry thought a clever strategy, as it would make it much easier for Fred to sneak up on the wizard. In the meantime, Harry put his crossbow away, turned, and laid hands on Ginny, healing most of her damage, and she healed the rest herself. Ron and Hermione also used spells to cure Hermione's wounds.

"Evard's Black Tentacles!" shouted Periwinkle, causing 15 or 20 writhing tentacles to spring up through the middle of the room. Undaunted, Siofra took a running leap, clearing the tentacles and landing ten feet beyond them. Harry was astounded at the length and height of her jump until he remembered that she now had a Ring of Jumping. He drew his own sword and simply plunged forward into the mass as he heard George cast Resistance on himself. A sling bullet soared over his head, missing Periwinkle completely. Ron also moved into the area of tentacles, while Hermione stayed back to cast another healing spell.

"Prismatic Spray," the wizard cast next, causing several multicolored beams to shoot around the room. A bluish-purple beam hit Harry, but he resisted whatever effect it was supposed to have and felt nothing. Glancing back, the same seemed to be true of Ginny, who showed no impact from the blue beam that landed on her. Ron and Hermione were not so fortunate, however, Ron getting burned by a red beam and Hermione showing acid damage from an orange one. At the same time, the tentacles lashed out and tried to grab at the two boys. Three wrapped themselves around Ron, and one caught Harry by the leg. Siofra cast Greater Magic Weapon, and George cast Cat's Grace. Ginny shot two more sling bullets that went wide as Harry struggled against the tentacle holding him, eventually pulling free and lurching forward. Ron managed to free his sword arm, but the other two tentacles held firm. Hermione healed herself even further, causing Harry to wonder what kind of damage she must have sustained before he had emerged from the acid fog. She was now looking nearly untouched, though.

A tentacle caught Harry again, and an additional one attached itself to Ron as well. Harry heard Periwinkle casting yet another spell, but he was now completely focused on the tentacles and could spare little attention to the other events taking place in the room. Wielding his sword in both hands, Harry hacked at the tentacle holding him, destroying it in two swings. Ron sliced at two of his restraints as well, damaging one and destroying the other. Hermione helped by using her Wand of Magic Missile to eliminate the one Ron had not been able to hit.

Sounds of battle came from the far end of the room, and George shouted something about drawing the wizard out. Another tentacle wrapped itself around Ron, and Harry jumped to help him, damaging it severely. Ron finished it off and the one he'd previously sliced. Seeing that he was free, Hermione put her wand away and began edging around the room against the wall, out of tentacle range.

Now that Harry had moved, four more tentacles found him in range and grappled him. Harry struggled against all of them, managing to free his sword arm from one. Ron returned the earlier favor, striking at another. Ginny in tiger form leaped into the fray, clawing at a third. The one Harry had broken free from grasped him again, this time around his waist, and another squeezed him painfully. Resisting again, Harry threw off two of them, both of which Ginny was able to finish off. Ron destroyed the one he'd already hit and moved on to the last. The last tentacle squeezed Harry before he obliterated it with his sword and ran out of range. Ginny rushed past him, pouncing on the evil wizard, who was using a quarterstaff against Siofra. Ginny's claws penetrated, but her bite attack missed so badly that she lost her grip and fell away.

Periwinkle seemed a little the worse for wear, so it seemed that either Fred or Siofra had successfully caused him injury. In addition, a magical arrow was lodged in the wizard's shoulder. Ron and Hermione came up behind Harry, out of tentacle range. Harry could not see George and reasoned that he must have cast an invisibility spell on himself while Harry had been occupied.

"Siofra! Ginny! Get back!" Ron shouted, glancing at Harry in a silent instruction to move forward and engage. Harry nodded his acknowledgement. Periwinkle attacked Siofra twice with his quarterstaff, hitting her once. She pulled back and cast Slow, but it didn't seem to affect him.

"Lightning Bolt," George said, and lightning five feet wide shot from his hands at Periwinkle, clearly hurting him. Harry came in between the disoriented Ginny and Periwinkle, slicing the wizard with his sword but doing no damage. Harry couldn't see Ron, but he heard him activate a wand and heard Hermione cast a healing spell on him.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw the acid fog vanish. Since Harry was now the only person in melee range (visible, at least – there was some evidence that an invisible Fred was attacking from behind), Periwinkle turned on him, hitting two solid blows. Siofra withdrew even further, toward the wall, and turned invisible. Periwinkle stumbled forward as he was apparently struck in the back. Harry tried two more strokes with the sword but couldn't penetrate the Stoneskin spell. Ginny was now out of Harry's line of sight, but Ron rushed in to the space left by Siofra. He swung his sword, rebounding it off a magical force.

"Searing Light," Hermione called out, causing enough damage with the light ray to that the wizard fell to the ground. Periwinkle's body jerked suddenly, then stilled. This was explained shortly, when Fred suddenly appeared, pulling his rapier back out of the body. Siofra and George reappeared soon thereafter. Everyone just looked around at each other for a minute, catching their breath.

"Excellent work," came a voice from everywhere. "Think about what you have learned."

"Why did he just keep fighting? Why didn't he use more spells?" Ron asked in confusion, placing his arm around Hermione.

"That last spell he cast was Tenser's Transformation," George replied, grinning. "It made him a great warrior, but he could no longer cast spells or even activate a magic item like a wand or this rod." He indicated the magic rod that had apparently been part of the wizard's gear.

Harry didn't pay much attention to any of this. Instead, he turned to Ginny, who had returned to human form. He knew that they would soon be sent home, now that their objective had been achieved. In fact, he could already sense the world around him becoming somehow fuzzy. Only Ginny's face was perfectly clear, and he moved toward her, enveloping her in a hug.

"Oh, well," said Siofra, and not to be left out, picked one of the twins to hug (Fred). George shrugged and hugged her from behind, creating a Siofra-on-twin sandwich. They remained like that as the world went grey.

* * *

Author's Note: And with that, the adventure is over. There is only the epilogue to wrap everything up. And since I am so nice, I've decided to post that tonight, right after this one.


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I guess the D&D portion of the story is pretty well done, but I still don't own Harry Potter.

**Epilogue**

Harry awoke suddenly and reached automatically for his sword.

Sword? He didn't own a sword. The only time he'd ever used one was in the Chamber of Secrets, two years ago. Harry shook his head to clear it. He sat up in his bed, blinking and wondering why everything looked so blurry.

Of course, glasses. He groped on the nightstand and put them on. He'd worn glasses for years; how could he have forgotten that? Harry frowned and rubbed his scar absently. For a change, it didn't hurt. In fact, for the first time since he'd come back to Privet Drive for the summer, he didn't think he'd had a nightmare. He did remember a very confused blur of a dream, but it was fading quickly. All he could clearly remember was an image of Ginny's face. Only it wasn't Ginny the way he'd just seen her a few weeks ago. There was something different about her. She seemed…older, somehow, and her hair had been pulled back behind her head, which he had never seen. Her long, red hair was always down. Except maybe at the Yule Ball, but he hadn't really paid attention.

Why had he been dreaming about Ginny, anyway? All he knew was that remembering that image gave him an odd dual feeling of comfort and loss. Harry stretched and decided to get up. He felt as though he had been asleep for a very long time.

Hedwig showed up a little while later with a letter from Ron. As usual, it said very little. Harry remembered that he had been very angry with his friends just yesterday, but he felt much less so now, for some reason. He also felt strangely more confident about anything he might face today. Maybe it was just the effect of not having a nightmare for a change. He shrugged and went downstairs to find some breakfast.

* * *

Ron woke up gradually, wanting to hold on to the dream he was having. He slowly opened his eyes to see the sunlight filtering through the curtains of the room he was using at 12 Grimmauld Place. He glanced over to the empty bed next to him, which Harry would hopefully be occupying soon.

Ron was aware that he had been having an unusually vivid dream, but the images were scattering and dispersing even as he tried to make better sense of them. There had been a lot of fighting, and a giant spider had bit him. He also remembered kissing Hermione. Ron smiled and closed his eyes again. This wasn't the first time he'd dreamt about kissing her, but this time had felt unbelievably real.

Suddenly, there were two loud _cracks_ as Fred and George appeared in his room.

"Ahh!" Ron yelled, taken by surprise. "Would you guys stop doing that?"

"Sorry if we scared you," said Fred, not looking sorry at all.

"We just couldn't wait to tell you –" George added. The conversation was interrupted by two girls in dressing gowns bursting into the room, probably drawn by Ron's shout. One was Ron's sister, and the other was the object of his prior musings, causing him to blush. This situation was not helped by the fact that it had been a warm night, and he had gone to bed shirtless. Ron quickly pulled the covers up over most of his chest. Hermione's gaze seemed to linger for a moment at a point somewhere below his chin before her cheeks grew pink and she looked away.

"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" Ron demanded.

"What is going on here?" Hermione asked, still not looking at him. Ginny seemed to be trying not to laugh at her, but Ron couldn't imagine what was funny.

"You see, the thing is -" said Fred.

"We couldn't wait to tell Ron -" continued George.

"About this dream we both had -"

"He was in it -"

"And you two -"

"And Harry -"

"Harry?" Ginny interrupted, looking startled.

"Yes," said both twins together. Then, after exchanging a glance, they added, "Why?"

"It's just…I dreamed about him, too," she admitted, and now it was her turn to redden.

"Is that so unusual?" remarked Ron dryly, glad to have someone else embarrassed for the moment.

"This was," she retorted hotly. "I remember us talking. I mean, really talking. About serious things."

"I had a strange dream, too," Hermione admitted. "I had some kind of mystic healing power. And…"

She looked over at Ron again, quickly. Ron's eyes widened. Did she somehow know? Or could she have dreamt the same thing he had? But how was that possible? The twins unwittingly came to the rescue.

"I was a sorcerer," George said.

"And I was a rogue," Fred said.

"What's so odd about that?" Hermione said tartly.

"Fine," George sniffed.

"We know when we're not wanted," Fred added. And with another pair of _cracks_, they were gone. The remaining three exchanged glances.

"It _was_ just a dream, wasn't it?" Ginny asked uncertainly. "I mean, we don't all remember the same things, so it wasn't necessarily that we had the same dream. We just all had striking dreams the same night."

"Fred and George certainly seemed to share the same one," Hermione pointed out, brow furrowed.

"Ah, they're twins," Ron shrugged, though something niggled at the back of his mind that this wasn't quite right. "They do that kind of thing all the time."

"And even what I remembered when I woke up is fading," Hermione admitted.

"Well, then, I guess that settles it," Ginny said matter-of-factly. "This house is just starting to get to us."

"Yes, I suppose that's it," Hermione said a bit doubtfully. Then she and Ginny left to get dressed and allow Ron to do the same.

Ron lay back for a moment, hands clasped behind his head. This dream, or whatever it was, had given him an idea that Hermione might not necessarily object if he tried to kiss her. He would have to think about that some more.

* * *

Siofra the Elf slid back through the universal rift, right onto her bed at home in Texas. She shook herself and saw that she was back in her original clothes. She hurried to a mirror. To her disappointment, the elfin features had already faded. She stuck her tongue out at herself.

"I didn't even get to properly see myself as an elf," she muttered. Just then, her mother knocked and asked if she was ready for breakfast. Siofra answered that she'd be out in a few minutes.

Honestly, Siofra couldn't even remember if this was a school day or not. She'd spent so much time in Liselle's fantasy world – hey, wait! That's right; she'd finally met Liselle! She wondered if what she'd seen was accurate. Had Liselle really had her baby in this world? How much time had passed?

Siofra shook her head in confusion. This was all too disorienting. She'd think about it later. In the meantime, she had to find a caulk gun or something and seal up that universal rift….

* * *

Author's Note: Siofra remembered everything clearly because she was brought in separately from the Harry Potter characters. I wanted this story, although primarily meant to be entertaining and funny, to have a purpose. Therefore, I thought it would be nice if the HP characters learned a little something, got some foreshadowing of what was to come. Granted, the last book or two hadn't been released yet when I finished this, and canon did not fulfill the hopes I put forward here, but I had a good time, anyway. I hope you did.

Response to Sharnorasian Empire: Sorry I forgot to respond in the last chapter; I was in too much of a hurry to get it posted. Thanks for joining the ride and encouraging me to post the rest of the story. Braxat's are pretty scary, but I think the spell-stitched Mohrg looks far creepier.

On another note - I'd been thinking of doing a D&D thing with Avatar: The Last Airbender characters. Would anyone be interested in reading something like that?


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